Evidence that Apple is planning to launch three iPhone models later this year appears to be mounting as a new supply chain leak emerges.
Later this year, Apple is probably going to follow tradition and release an iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus, with the usual incremental upgrades we’ve come to expect. But there’s also a rumour that there’ll be a third special edition model – dubbed the iPhone 8 – that will be launched in celebration of the iPhone’s 10th anniversary.
The latest in a long series of leaks suggesting that will be the case comes from tipster blog Slashleaks, which has published a new report containing an image posted to Chinese social media site Weibo. The image shows a side-by-side comparison of what appear to be iPhone moulds. They’re the cut-outs that suppliers use to build handset chassis.
Importantly, the image depicts three different models in descending size order, each captioned with ‘7S Plus’, ‘8’, and ‘7S’ respectively. That follows the rumours that the iPhone 8 will fall somewhere between the two other phones in terms of size.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to verify the legitimacy of these moulds. Although Weibo can often turn out quality leaks, it’s also a hotbed of fakery – it’s basically China’s Twitter, after all.
However, it’s looking increasingly likely that there will be a special edition iPhone 8, so we wouldn’t discount the image entirely.
Apple is tipped to be plotting major hardware upgrades for the model. For instance, we’re expecting to see an all-screen front, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S8 or LG G6. It’s also rumoured that there’ll be vertically arranged dual camera on the back – that’s even depicted in the leak.
The other big rumour is that Apple will fit the iPhone 8 with an OLED screen, which would be a first for the iPhone. Samsung has been using OLED panels on the flagship Galaxy series for years, so there’s plenty of pressure on Apple to make the switch. After all, OLED panels are far more power efficient – and offer improvements to colour gamut and dynamic range – over conventional LCD displays.
Apple is expected to announce all three phones during its annual September keynote, although no such plans have been officially confirmed.
