Apple’s next iPhone has become the subject of an in-depth research note by J.P. Morgan analyst Rod Hall, confirming a number of previously-leaked features. He believes that Wall Street numbers so far have failed to capture the scale of the replacement ‘super cycle’ that will occur when the handset drops since a number of consumers are still using older iPhones.
Apple is apparently looking to control this demand and offset the increased cost of materials by opting for a $1000+ price tag for the iPhone 8. Nevertheless, it’s expected to make up 41% of total shipments in Q4 2017. Specs-wise, the so-called iPhone Pro may have an edge-to-edge 5.85-inch OLED panel.
Apple has supposedly managed to pack the bigger 5.85-inch screen onto the same 5.5-inch iPhone form factor (see below). The company had apparently considering fitting a 5.1-inch display onto a 4.7-inch iPhone case, but ultimately decided against releasing such an iPhone in 2017.
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Speculation so far has only hinted at the 5.1-inch iPhone 8, so the new research note will likely throw that into question. Other notable changes include glass being present on both the front and back, wireless charging support, and a structured-light-augmented rear camera which will allow the shooter to re-focus photos after they’ve been captured.
Intriguingly, Hall thinks there’s a chance Apple will get rid of the fingerprint reader entirely. The brand might replace it with facial recognition courtesy the 3D scanning front-facing snapper. As for the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, the duo might have things like wireless charging and a glass design in common with the iPhone 8, but will mostly serve as updated versions of its predecessors with possibly improved cameras.
J.P. Morgan predicts that Apple will sell 260 million iPhones this year, up from the 211 million it vended in 2016. Of course, this mostly depends on the firm coming up with a compelling product that will actually make holdouts want to upgrade.