iPhone 8 Represents Biggest Shake-Up To Apple's iPhone Lineup In History: Three Models, Two Designs, Major Design Changes

If rumours are correct, Apple will release both an iPhone 7s and iPhone 8 handset in 2017

Word on the street suggests there’s three iPhone handsets coming in 2017. Now, depending on who you speak to there are a couple of theories as to what’s going on.

The most likely is that Apple will release two iPhone 7s handsets - these handsets that will look and feel like the current iPhone 7 - alongside a brand new model that will be called the iPhone 8.

Why would Apple do this? Simple: OLED panels – or rather, a lack of them, to be precise. The other reason is that Apple will be able to retail this handset as an ULTRA-PREMIUM handset – and that means $1000+ per unit, probably.

Apple simply cannot source enough OLED panels from its suppliers to satisfy demands. This is why OLED will only appear on one handset in 2017. In 2018 and beyond, all models should feature OLED panels, as Apple’s supplier ramp up production.

The upshot to this approach is that Apple can use OLED panels as a big USP on its bigger and more expensive iPhone.

“Apple ordered 100 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for use in the iPhone 8. However, it is now thought that order has been increased to 160 million, which is worth an additional $4.3 billion to Samsung,” notes PC Mag.

OLED displays serve up richer colours, deeper blacks and have faster refresh rates. They’re also flexible, opening up a myriad of options and potential for design – things like curved aspects and truly flexible handsets.

The iPhone 8 – AKA The Mac Daddy – will have all the new, flagship features: so, improved imaging, improved display technology, the all-screen frontage, masses of storage. Basically, all the cool stuff you’ve been reading about for the last 12 months.

This will be Apple’s NEW flagship, just as the iPad Pro is its new (and more costly) iPad flagship.

iPhone 7s vs iPhone 8: Expect BIG Differences – And Not Just In Price

The iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will likely retail for the same price as the current models. Though there will be some parity with the larger, more impressive iPhone 8 – wireless charging, for one.

“Only the 5.8-inch 2017 iPhone will feature a glass and stainless steel design,” reports BGR, “while the 4.7-inch iPhone will have an aluminium housing just like this year’s iPhones.”

The report added: “The 5.8-inch iPhone is believed to be the iPhone 8, which is expected to feature a steel frame that will hold the internal components, covered by glass front and rear panels. Apple used similar designs in the past for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.”

The iPhone 8 model will be dramatically more expensive; I’ve heard talk of the handset costing more than $1000/£1000 which is insanely expensive for a phone – even if it is one that packs in a lot of new stuff.

"Kuo says Apple will remove the home button completely and replace it on the iPhone 8 with a ‘function area’ akin to the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro line. The function area will be contextual, adapting to whatever users need depending on what they are doing,” notes Forbes.

It added: “Interestingly Kuo says the end result is the iPhone 8 will be almost bezel-less with a mammoth 5.8-inch display squeezed into a chassis no larger than the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. Exclude the function area, however, and the actual usable size of the display will be 5.15-inches - which is roughly in line with upcoming rivals like the Galaxy S8 (also tipped for a 5.8-inch display and onscreen controls).”

iPhone 7s Design?

All rumours currently point to the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus sharing the same design as last year’s models. The upshot to this is that Apple will be able to, maybe, reduce the price to entice user adoption.

The logic here is simple:

If you’re bored and want something new, get the iPhone 8.
If you’re happy enough with the iPhone 7s and its price, go with that.
Apple is basically giving you a choice – but in the end it will win either way.

Personally speaking, I can see A LOT of people going for the iPhone 8. I think Apple knows this which is why it has limited all the big changes to one handset.

Supply chain reports indicate that Apple is struggling to source enough OLED panels for the iPhone 8. Adding OLED to ALL iPhone releases in 2017 would further exasperate this problem. Hence the two model split.

Apple has tasked BOE, a Chinese OLED producer with filling the gap between now and 2018:

“BOE is currently in the process of building two OLED plants in the southwestern province of Sichuan, according to today’s report. The company is investing close to $14.5 billion in the process, building plants in Chengdu and Mianyang,” reports 9to5Mac.