We’re one step closer to knowing the truth about iPhone 8 and its sibling smartphone variants for 2017, iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. Believed to be upgraded versions of last year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the two new smartphones will arrive on time, says reputed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for his mostly accurate predictions and early information on iPhones.
That’s the good news. The bad news is, he’s confirmed the rumors that iPhone 8, the main flagship iPhone from Apple this year, could be delayed as late as November due to “significant hardware upgrades.”
We’ve known for some time now that Apple is going for an all-glass front with near-zero bezel and a virtual Home button, and an OLED panel instead of the regular LCD that other iPhones have. While iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will continue the LCD tradition, the primary iPhone for 2017 will have curved OLED panels sourced from Samsung, Apple’s biggest rival in the smartphone business.
When you look at the smartphone lineup for this year, it’s impressive. Samsung kicked the year off, as usual, with its Galaxy S series for 2017, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Next up from the South Korean electronics giant will be the Galaxy Note 8, about which rumors are starting to flow. Then comes the Pixel 2 from Google, and they’ve already indicated an annual release cycle, which would mean a launch date for the Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL of October 2017. There may be a third Pixel 2, codenamed Taimen, that might also make its appearance this year.
With that much competition in the premium smartphone segment, Apple’s tail is on fire. If they’ve decided that it’s better to take a sales hit during September and October just to make sure the iPhone 8 is exactly the type of device they envision, that might actually be a good thing in the long run.
Most premium smartphone owners typically hold off their purchases in the months preceding a major release, and iPhone 8 being the 10th anniversary celebration of the original iPhone’s launch back in 2007, their sales are sure to take a hit if they delay the phone. But it seems they’re ready to do that to make sure that their hardware upgrades are all in place and fully tested out before rolling out to the public.
The only saving grace could be the fact that iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will release as scheduled by Apple (a date that the public isn’t aware of yet), which could give them some breathing time before iPhone 8 is released.
Of course, none of these phones might end up having the names we use for them now, but for the sake of convenience, we’re still calling them iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus and iPhone 8.
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