Apple Leak Reveals Massive iPhone 8 Upgrade

Let’s break them down:

A Monster Battery

Kuo says Apple will fit the iPhone 8 with a 2,700 mAh battery. This is almost 30% larger than the 1960 mAh battery in the iPhone 7 and Kuo says Apple will squeeze it in by using a “higher-cost stacked logic board design”. By stacking the board Apple almost halves the space it takes up thereby freeing up the space necessary for the bigger battery.

Of course the obvious point to make is rivals like the Galaxy S7 (3000 mAh) still have larger batteries, but iOS has always been able to get away with smaller batteries than Android. For example the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus has a 2900 mAh and it is one of the longest lasting smartphones on the market. But the iPhone 8 is purported to have only a circa 5-inch display and it will be OLED instead of LCD, which is more efficient.

^{iPhone 8 stacked logic board illustration and how it makes space for a larger battery. Image credit: MacRumors}

As such the iPhone 8 really could really shake things up by offering consistent multi-day battery life just at the moment Samsung decided to play things safe.

Super Compact Smartphone

The second detail Kuo has released is, despite sporting a 5-inch display, the iPhone 8 will be no larger than a 4.7-inch iPhone 7. This will keep it usable with one hand, a standout out feature in an era increasingly dominated by monster phablets.

Apple will achieve this by dramatically cutting back both the top and bottom bezels around the screen - a trend also expected from LG and Samsung this year. It means Apple will have to remove the iconic home button and Touch ID will be integrated directly into the display.

While sounding futuristic, this technology was announced by LG back in May 2016 but Apple looks set to be the first to bring it to market. Especially after a recent patent spot shows the company has been working on it.

Apple’s Biggest Ever iPhone Update

All of which means, both internally and externally, the iPhone 8 (some say it will be called the ‘iPhone X’ to celebrate the iPhone’s 10th anniversary) will be the biggest update in iPhone history.

The flipside is such charges are also arguably overdue. In 2016 Apple broke its traditional two year design cycle by giving the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus the same core design for the third successive generation. As such critics accused Apple of losing its ability to innovate and both the company’s profit margins and sales figures have been on a downward trend.

The iPhone 8 looks like the phone to reverse that. Certainly Apple’s confidence appears high. How do we know that? Again you only have to look at how expensive it will be...