iPhone 8 will likely not be released this year, and here’s the reason why

Apple will purportedly launch three new smartphone models this September – two iterative updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, as well as an all-new handset to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone range.

These have colloquially been dubbed iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus, and iPhone 8 to delineate between the handsets with the smaller tweaks and the model with the complete redesign.

However, Apple may choose to avoid all of these potential names.

And as renown technology journalist Zach Epstein, Executive Editor at BGR, pointed out earlier this week – one of these names is almost certainly wrong.

Apple isn’t going to launch an iPhone 8 this September, Epstein asserts.

That’s because the rumoured line-up for this year – iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and iPhone 8 – becomes impossibly confusing in 2018.

If Apple followed the precedent it has set with previous models, iPhone 7S will be bumped up to the next number in the chronology.

But that leaves the 2018 line-up as iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8S.

And let’s be honest – that’s just downright confusing for consumers.

Is the 2018 iPhone 8 better than the iPhone 8 launched the previous year? Why is there an iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in 20184, but only one available size the previous year?

The problem only compounds with each subsequent year, with the 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhone and iPhone Plus always taking the moniker used to delineate the top-of-the-line model in the previous line-up.

So, what will Apple name its new iPhone models? The rumour mill has a few suggestions – notably, iPhone Pro.

Apple already uses this moniker to single-out its high-end iPad and notebooks, so it would certainly make a certain amount of sense.

However, both the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro are powerful, productivity-focused machines and by all accounts, the all-new iPhone will not include any professional-oriented features – but rather, a beautiful new industrial design and some 3D facial recognition technology.

Zach Epstein suggests Apple follow the convention it has already established with its iPad Pro models, and simply name the different models based on their screen size, i.e. 4.7-inch iPhone, 5.5-inch iPhone and 5.8-inch iPhone.

Early whispers around the next-generation iPhone suggested Apple would use the brand iPhone X, with the X to mark the 10th year of the smartphone range.

Apple previously used the Roman numeral in its desktop operating system – OS X – before rebranding it macOS.

Technology blog 9to5Mac, which has been reliable in the past with rumours of next-generation Apple smartphones, has heard from a number of case manufacturers that the premium-level iPhone will be called the iPhone Edition.

Apple uses the same moniker to denote the high-end Apple Watch model.

These sources also believe the so-called iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus will be branded iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus.

That would leave the line-up as – iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone Edition.

Whatever it’s called, the premium iPhone looks set to be a real doozy.

The so-called iPhone 8 will be the only new iPhone to feature an OLED screen, Digitimes has reported.

Samsung is supplying some 80 million OLED displays for the next-generation smartphone in the second half of the year.

According to the report, Samsung Display is making an additional 80 million screens for its own smartphones and for other manufacturers, although it will keep some inventory flexibility in case Apple orders more iPhones.

Digitimes expects Apple to ship between 50 and 55 million iPhone 8 units in 2017.

Production of the 5.8inch iPhone is expected to ramp up after mid-September and Apple can truly judge demand.

Apple is widely-tipped to jettison the iconic Home Button from the front of the device, allowing the high-resolution display to bleed to the very edges of the device.

The Cupertino-based company looks set to incorporate the functionality built into the Home Button into 3D Touch gestures.

It is not yet known how Apple will replicate the Touch ID fingerprint scanner technology previous embedded into the physical button, with some reports suggesting Apple will incorporate the feature into the glass display, while others believe the sensor will be relocated to the back of the phone.

Renown pundit Mark Gurman, who is typically reliable when it comes to details on unannounced Apple products, believes Touch ID will be dropped completely in favour of face-scanning.

According to his sources, the face scanning technology will be used to log-in, authenticate contactless payments and open secure iOS apps.

iPhone 8 will use a new 3D sensor on the front of the device to scan users’ faces.

According to those working on the new technology, the sensor is capable of scanning a user’s face and unlocking the iPhone in a few hundred milliseconds.

It is designed to work even when the smartphone is placed on a table, rather than held up close to the face, it has been reported.

The sensor records more individual data points than a fingerprint scanner, which in theory, makes it more secure than Touch ID.

The 3D face scanning camera will be housed on the front of the iPhone in a small notch at the top of the edge-to-edge display.

Elsewhere, iPhone 8 looks set to include OIS, Optical Image Stabilisation, for both lens used in the rear dual-camera set-up.

It is also expected to ship with an OLED display with True Tone, a technology that Apple debuted with its 9.7inch iPad Pro.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus are expected to swap an aluminium case for glass to enable wireless charging.