Case maker 'highly confident' on Apple's final 'iPhone 8' design, doubling down on product...

AppleInsider

A week after a case manufacturer "confirmed" the iPhone 8 design, the same company has altered its rendering of the device slightly to conform to new ideas about the "notch" at the top of the screen for sensors, but still including a larger power/lock button and no rear Touch ID.

Published on Sunday by Forbes, the new design from case manufacturer Nodus was published only five days after the last "confirmed" design from the company. The notch at the top of the screen with penetrations for sensors still exists, with the screen space adjacent to the notch filled with battery data and connectivity information.

Also added are larger bezels, with what is described as a 4mm bezel to minimize accidental touches on the screen.

While previously noted in April, the design published by Forbes again brings attention to a larger side power/lock button than is installed on the iPhone 7 Plus. Some speculation started after the first reveal in April that some form of Touch ID may be embedded there -- but there is no way to tell from the latest render.

Also discussed in the report is the L-shaped battery, previously reported in March.

Tuesday's report claimed that there is a "more protruding camera" in the "iPhone 8" than the iPhone 7, but that did not appear to actually be the case, based on the render provided at the time. Sunday's renders don't address the situation directly, but do show a device slightly tilted on a plane, possibly because of the camera protrusion.

First render

Note slight increase in shadow on the right side of the phone pictured

Nodus is apparently so certain of the design that it is basing its retail case offerings off of the data, and is now "fine tuning" its case designs off of what it has. It is still not clear if Nodus has its own source, or is piggybacking off of other rumors and leaks from the supply chain -- such as the information provided in the report about the L-shaped battery.

Apple does not generally provide new iPhone dimensions more than a week or two before launch to vendors, if before reveal at all.

Regardless of design, the "iPhone 8" is rumored to be the first Apple phone with an OLED panel with 5.1 inches of usable space, and a bottom strip of virtual buttons. Also rumored to be included is a new 3D facial scanner possibly supplanting the Touch ID user identification system.

Early reports suggested a cost of more than $1,000. More recent discussions have centered around the possibility of the device retailing for as much as $1,200.

macxpress

I don't really get why case makers continuously do this...Some please give me a good explanation and not this well to be first with cases. 

Mike Wuerthele

macxpress said:

I don't really get why case makers continuously do this...Some please give me a good explanation and not this well to be first with cases. 

Why is that not the answer you're looking for? That is EXACTLY why the case makers do this.

stantheman

This is a competition. Case makers spend months creating mock-ups, securing materials and arranging for manufacturing facilities. They are now ready to pull the trigger on big production volumes, but won't do so until having hard evidence of the new iPhone design. EVERYONE knows that Apple is a company that will make "last-minute" changes if it seems appropriate, so everyone knows that case makers remain uncertain until late in the day. Meanwhile, it costs the case makers virtually nothing to announce their best guess, to possibly win bragging rights and attract notice to their ENTIRE product line.

sully54

macxpress said:

I don't really get why case makers continuously do this...Some please give me a good explanation and not this well to be first with cases. 

Historically, case makers have been pretty spot on with rumours.

Metriacanthosaurus

Finally a mockup that looks like the actual product. Can we please use this mockup for reference articles? I'm tired of seeing the silly examples that we know for a fact look nothing like the product.

dws-2

Nice looking mockup. This looks plausible and good looking.

Metriacanthosaurus

sog35 said:

Looks damn nice!

Hoping Apple surprises is on price. But if its expensive then at least my Apple stock should go up.  Here is what I'd like to see:

2017 Fall lineup:

iPhone 7s - $550 - lightly modified from last year. Basically just new A-chip

iPhone 7s+ - $679 - lightly modified from last year. Basically just new A-chip

iPhone X - $899 - 32GB, $999- 128GB, $1099 - 256GB

the pattern for Apple seems to be to widen the gap between the high-end and mid-range. This is what i see with iPad, Mac, and Watch. I think this strategy may work with iPhone also

I'm going off the current prices of iPhone 7 series and assuming they extend to the 7s line:

iPhone 8 - 128 GB - $969 USD
iPhone 8 - 256 GB - $1069 USD
iPhone. 8 - 512 GB - $1169 USD

I have no idea if they would actually put 512 GB in there...but they did with iPad Pro, so its possible.

robjn

stantheman said:

EVERYONE knows that Apple is a company that will make "last-minute" changes if it seems appropriate, so everyone knows that case makers remain uncertain until late in the day.

No. All the decisions are set in stone many, many months before. The design is likely mostly finalized two years ahead of shipping.

When the rumors are thin and the media is unsure they think they need to give us an excuse for their lack of information so they say "Apple still hasn't decided" - this is nonsense!

1983

I believe if Apple are unable to incorporate Touch ID into the screen but still want to keep Touch ID on the iPhone 8, they'll go the Sony Z series route and make it a part of the power button. Which might explain why it has been enlarged compared to previous iPhone generations. Putting it on the back of the phone would be a cop-out, inelegant and just like what nearly all of the other Android handset manufactures are doing.

mattinoz

designr said:

Interesting design. The top is most interesting.

Is the screen going all the way to the top with a small bar notched in for the ear speaker and camera and sensors at the top? That what the last picture indicates. The others though make it seem like there might actually be two "screens": the main screen we all know and love but a small strip "screen" or display of some kind at the top only for status (network, battery., etc.) that is only black and white such that the main screen stops just below the top.

Although it makes the bottom a little unbalanced as the mini screen reads as a be bezzel. Still yes it is the first render to show such screen and make sensible use of it.

Now if they come out with a special edition early next year with a 4inch screen that would be prefect. I may even give in on phone size for this baby. 

[Deleted User]

The carrier text will definitely have to be reduced in the UK to fit that new top strip. I'm on vodafone and if I'm connected to WiFi, it'll say " ***** vodafone WiFiCall UK " then the wifi symbol - it extends all the way to the clock on my 6S. If I have large text mode on or use an old app that again used the bigger fonts then it actually overlaps the clock numbers.

Metriacanthosaurus

1983 said:

I believe if Apple are unable to incorporate Touch ID into the screen but still want to keep Touch ID on the iPhone 8, they'll go the Sony Z series route and make it a part of the power button. 

Oh please. Apple is not putting Touch ID into the fucking power button. First of all, the button is used to turn off the phone. Literally the dumbest place you could put it. People already press the Home Button instead of resting because they can't understand the difference. Now we're going to put that in the button that TURNS OFF the display? No. Second of all, it's a dumb physical button. Replacing it with a Touch ID scanner that is only 1 mm wide would be ineffectual and, again, dumb. Thirdly, look at where it is positioned. So now only right handed people have a prayer at using it, if they can rearrange their finger? And, gone is using your thumb right? No one is going to do that.

I don't give a shit what the DOA Sony Z products do. They aren't a beacon of innovation or a well of ideas. They are nothing. And this idea is even dumber than Touch ID on the back, which is also so dumb I can barely voice the objection without becoming dumber.

RobertoBobarez

Metriacanthosaurus said:

1983 said:

I believe if Apple are unable to incorporate Touch ID into the screen but still want to keep Touch ID on the iPhone 8, they'll go the Sony Z series route and make it a part of the power button. 

Oh please. Apple is not putting Touch ID into the fucking power button. First of all, the button is used to turn off the phone. Literally the dumbest place you could put it. People already press the Home Button instead of resting because they can't understand the difference. Now we're going to put that in the button that TURNS OFF the display? No. Second of all, it's a dumb physical button. Replacing it with a Touch ID scanner that is only 1 mm wide would be ineffectual and, again, dumb. Thirdly, look at where it is positioned. So now only right handed people have a prayer at using it, if they can rearrange their finger? And, gone is using your thumb right? No one is going to do that.

I don't give a shit what the DOA Sony Z products do. They aren't a beacon of innovation or a well of ideas. They are nothing. And this idea is even dumber than Touch ID on the back, which is also so dumb I can barely voice the objection without becoming dumber.

If memory serves me well here, the power button on the Sony Z series can wake the phone and unlock it with one press so it kind of makes sense. You only hard press the power button to turn off the phone so people will know that. Unless the touch ID is under the screen, Apple has three choices. On the back, on the power button or replace it with facial recognition.