An all-glass iPhone may have sounded like wishful thinking in the past, but it now seems like it could very well happen thanks to a new highly credible report pointing in that direction. The radical handset is expected to come out in 2017 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the smartphone series.
To recap, talk about an-glass iPhone began in April this year courtesy famed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. This was later followed by iPhone chassis maker Catcher Technology’s chairman Allen Horng himself coming to the fore and disclosing Apple’s future plans to investors.
Now Nikkei has joined the chorus with its own sources who claim that Foxconn is working on a glass casing for the 2017 iPhone. It’s apparently been concentrating its efforts on the technology for a year in order to bolster its position within the supply chain and bag more orders from Apple.
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The new material is apparently meant as a way for Apple to boost weakening demand and better compete against rivals like Samsung and Huawei. The rumored device will supposedly employ a glass casing with metal frames and an OLED display. The combination may result in a sleeker iPhone which will offer a brighter and more energy-efficient display.
Other than confirming the existence of a glass iPhone, Nikkei also dropped another bombshell regarding the iPhone 7 series. According to insider sources, the brand killed off a premium version of the handset in the second quarter of the year, less than 6 months before its expected September launch.
The report is likely talking about the much-discussed iPhone 7 Pro. It seems that Apple had initially planned to release two versions of the iPhone 7 Plus, one with a dual-lens and one with a single camera. The latter has now been taken off the slate. This is highly unprecedented and has probably never happened before so close to Apple’s product launch.
Apple apparently made the decision in response to increasing pressure to perform better against its competitors. Its sales have slumped for the first time in 13 years, while companies like Samsung have done considerably better. The iPhone 7 will have to be a winner for the brand if it means to continue its legacy.