Apple is famed for doing things differently, so what is next for the Cupertino-based company’s flagship smartphone? It looks like the iPhone 8 could be made out of Zirconia Ceramic. The iPhone 7 was made out of aluminium, like most other high-end devices, which is an attempt to make the device durable with the added perk of lightness. But Zirconia Ceramic has the potential to bring about a significant improvement in exactly the areas that aluminium lacks.
Update: According to a report from Japanese site Nikkei enhanced Taptic engine is one of the features that could be included in the Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8. The publication claims that Apple is currently working on a “high-performance motor” that’s able to “create more complex tactile vibrations.” If Apple really is eliminating the home button, that will explain the engine. Two features that are tied to the iPhone Home Button could be taken over by the Haptic feedback that’ll vibrate and initiate triggers like unlocking the phone and confirmations of the Touch ID payment.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has announced that the iPhone 8 sport the dual-lens camera that was introduced in the iPhone 7 Plus this year. Although in the iPhone 7 Plus, only the wide-angle lens features OIS, Kuo predicts that iPhone 8 will include optical image stabilisation (OIS) for both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses. But it’s worth noting that the dual-camera option may only be available in the iPhone 8 Plus. That’s not all, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, could come with more advanced biometric features like iris scanning and facial recognition. Apple’s next flagship will have iris scanner along with the Touch ID or in place of the Touch ID. It’ll boost the security measures of the device. We are not sure about what the additional biometric features would be used for but most likely it’ll be used as an additional layer of protection or an alternate method for accessing the iPhone.
Update 2: It is expected that the iPhone 8 will bring a massive change to how people perceive smartphones in today’s date. It has already been rumoured that the upcoming iPhone 8 will have a completely revamped design compared to what we saw up to this year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. It is already known that Apple will ditch the aluminium chassis that has been seen in the previous iPhones in favour of a Zirconia Ceramic body; now a new report claims that the back panel of the iPhone 8 will e made of glass. The post on GSMArena says that a source close to the development has provided some details about the panel being used, which will apparently be supplied by China’s Biel Crystal Manufactory and Lens Technology. This claim appears to fall in line with several other reports that claim the new smartphone will come with wireless charging support.
The same post claims that the upcoming iPhone 8 will outdo this year’s iPhone 7 in one other significant way. Whereas the iPhone 7 came in two variants, the base model and the iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone 8 is likely to come in three different size variants besides including the standard 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display options. The new addition will come in the form of an intermediary 5.0-inch variant which will share most of its features with the higher-end 5.5-inch model.
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The clue to this possible development has been provided by Apple itself, whose Apple Watch Series 2 has ditched its previous design material for Zirconia Ceramic. Apple certainly has its reasons to make such a move: “Ceramic is one of the hardest materials in the world — more than four times harder than stainless steel — with a beautiful, white, pearl-like finish, making Apple Watch Edition extremely scratch resistant,” reads Apple’s official announcement. The evident fondness in the description may be clue enough that the company might stick to the material for the iPhone 8. But we can easily see how it may work as an advantage.
The iPhone 8 is anticipated to bring about a host of changes and improvements in both the design and the specs department, especially because its launch may fall in line with Apple’s tenth year anniversary. Surely the build of the iPhone 8 will be an important issue, as we expect Apple will not want to see any more of their devices featured in videos as the subject of a bending experiment. The problem with metal is that they are ductile, which means while their flexibility allows them not to break when they are hit, they certainly can bend or receive indentations.
Zirconia Ceramic, on the other hand, is extremely resistant to scratches as well as fractures. That is the reason why Apple went for the material for their next generation smartwatches, and that may be the reason they might use it in the iPhone 8. But the material is expensive, and the new Zirconia Ceramic Apple Watch Series 2 price starts at a whopping $1249 in the US.
However, the conveniences in design and build of the iPhone 8 may lead Apple to go the ceramic way nevertheless. Or they may think of something else entirely to revolutionise the way we think about smartphones; Apple certainly has the reputation to be able to do that.