It’s not even February yet, and already we’ve caught wind of a laundry list of rumors pointing to some pretty exciting features likely to debut on Apple’s forthcoming, 10th anniversary ‘iPhone 8’ flagship. From the device’s rumored 5.8-inch, curved OLED display, to its complete material reengineering, and even its spiffy wireless charging technology, there really has been no shortage of ‘iPhone 8’ rumors. We can only assume these rumors will continue sprouting up like weeds as we progress through the year ahead. To that end, just this morning we were informed of another two, exciting features rumored for Apple’s ‘iPhone 8’, which will effectively benefit the device in physical and software capacities.
Advanced 3D Touch for New Curved OLED Display:
The first rumor comes to us courtesy of a report from KGI Securities heavyweight, Ming Chi Kuo, who, in a report issued to his firm’s investors late last week. Kuo indicated that Apple’s forthcoming ‘iPhone 8’ flagship will sport “a new, improved, 3D Touch system for enhanced pressure sensitivity.”
Noting that Apple’s high-end ‘iPhone 8’ will boast an advanced, flexible OLED display panel, (which will curve slightly at the edges so as to cover the entire front surface of the device), Kuo sounded the alarm that Apple’s existing 3D Touch panels would be incompatible with such display. As such, the company is planning to switch from its current “FBCB” sensor employed in the iPhone 6s/7, to a new film-based 3D Touch layer.This will not only be more flexible, but also boast much higher touch sensitivity, opening the door to the company employing a wider range of 3D Touch gestures on the device.
Kuo noted, however, that because OLED panels are generally more fragile than their LCD counterparts, Apple will also employ a metal, structural reinforcing component of some sort. This will be to supplement the new film-based 3D Touch layer around the delicate, curved edges of the device. What’s unknown at this point, however, is whether that metal structure will be a visible, palpable component, or merely an under layer resting deeper beneath the display, itself.
Advanced Siri Capabilities:
Another rumor that surfaced this morning comes to us courtesy of a fresh report from DigiTimes, who alleges that Apple’s forthcoming ‘iPhone 8’ will ship with “enhanced Siri capabilities.” However, the report failed to mention what exactly those “enhanced capabilities” will entail.
The report did state that Apple is gearing up to incorporate a slew of advanced new Siri features, thanks in part to the Artificial Intelligence-based (AI) software acquired through the company’s August, 2016 acquisition of Turi.
“Apple acquired Seattle-based machine learning startup Turi in August 2016, aiming to further strengthen the functionality, as well as the market share, of its Siri intelligent personal assistant,” reads the DigiTimes report, in part. “Meanwhile, market sources have also indicated that Apple’s next-generation iPhone devices are likely to come with enhanced Siri.”
It’s interesting to note that we recently learned about Samsung’s acquisition of its own AI-based machine learning startup, VIV Labs, and the subsequent announcement of the company’s forthcoming visual search assistant for the ‘Galaxy S8’. Also known as ‘Bixby’, the South Korean tech-titan is hoping their AI-based protocol will be able to go head-to-head with the likes of Apple’s Siri.
In any case, smartphone manufactures, big and small, appear to be locked in somewhat of a race to introduce fully-fledged, AI-based machine learning protocols for their smartphones, particularly as they seek to develop unique and competitive devices amidst a gloriously stalled period of hardware innovation. Huawei, for instance, will be incorporating Amazon’s ‘Alexa’ assistant into its forthcoming flagship devices; and LG, respectively, will be shipping its upcoming G6 flagship boasting support for the standalone Google Assistant platform.
Apple’s ‘iPhone 8’, meanwhile, will likely be touching down sometime during the month of September, as it usually does. In the interim, we will certainly keep you posted on any new developments if and when they materialize.