Apple set to unveil the iPhone 8 — here's everything you need to know
Matthew Braga | CBC News | Posted: September 9, 2017 1:00 PM | Last Updated: September 9, 2017
Augmented reality, facial recognition, a big bezel-less screen — and a $1,200 price tag
On Tuesday, Apple will unveil the next iPhone — or rather, three new iPhones, if the rumours come to pass.
It's the 10th-anniversary iPhone, after all, and expectations are high.
CBC News will report from the unveiling at Apple's new spaceship-shaped campus, Apple Park, in Cupertino, Calif. It's the first time Apple is holding an event here, which will take place in the Steve Jobs Theatre. You can stream the keynote event online.
What can you expect? Well, it's believed that Apple will unveil a new Apple TV with support for 4K TVs. And its been reported that Apple is negotiating deals to make 4K movies available to rent.
It's also expected that Apple will unveil a third iteration of the Apple Watch with cellular connectivity built in. That would make it possible to receive notifications, stream music, and perhaps even make calls without being connected to an iPhone.
But you're probably wondering about the iPhone. Here's what we've been hearing so far:
- The phone. Not just one, but three, according to Bloomberg — a premium iPhone with a brand new design, and two additional iPhone models that are more likely to be successors to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
- The name. This one's up in the air. Various reports suggest that the premium iPhone could be called the iPhone Pro, iPhone X, iPhone Edition. Where would that leave the iPhone 8? That name may be reserved for the successor to last year's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
- The screen. A handful of leaks seem to indicate that the premium iPhone is getting a big redesign, all but eliminating the bezel, and pushing the screen out to the edges of the device. The display itself is getting an upgrade — from LCD technology to something called AMOLED, which promises richer colours in a thinner package, and should be familiar to anyone who's used a high-end Android phone in recent years. Oh, and all that screen real estate means the home button is finally going away — to be replaced by touch-screen gestures and other software tricks.
- The sensors. On the premium iPhone, there's said to be a new front-facing camera for 3D facial recognition, which will replace the existing iPhone's TouchID fingerprint sensor for things like payments and unlocking the phone. And there are indications that there'll be one or more upgraded sensors on the back of the phone for more accurate augmented-reality experiences — one of the big new technologies coming in iOS 11.
- The software. iOS 11 was unveiled in June at Apple's annual developer conference, with a public release expected in the coming weeks. Augmented reality aside, expect improvements to Apple's voice-activated assistant Siri, a redesigned App Store and a handful of user interface updates throughout.
- The ports. It's a safe bet that the headphone jack — gone with the introduction of the iPhone 7 — isn't coming back. But soon you may not have to charge your phone and plug your headphones into the same port. On the premium iPhone, at least, rumour has it that inductive charging — sometimes referred to as wireless charging — is making the leap from Apple Watch to iPhone.
- The price. That fancy new display won't come cheap. Expect the premium iPhone to cost a lot — as much as $1,200 Cdn without a cellular contract for the highest-end model, according to a handful of analysts and the New York Times. That puts it in the same league as the similarly priced Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
If you have a tip, you can contact this reporter securely using Signal or WhatsApp at +1 416 316 4872, through off-the-record messaging at mattbraga@jabber.ccc.de, or via email at matthew.braga@cbc.ca.