Analysts reaffirm rumors of curved 5- & 5.8-inch 'iPhone 8' models in 2017

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
A new analyst report tells investors to expect both 5- and 5.8-inch curved, bezel-free iPhones in the future, after visiting production lines and suppliers in China.



Home button-less iPhone concept via Martin Hajek.


According to a research note published by Barclays Research and seen by AppleInsider, an "iPhone 8" design "didn't sound 100% locked down" but will shift to "a bezel-less design with screen sizes getting larger and curved edges in the original envelope."

Based on information gleaned from the trip by the analysts, and discussions with component suppliers, the 5.8-inch iPhone is said to feature OLED technology, with the 5-inch model having a LCD display.

Barclays does not believe that the discrete home button will be removed on the next version of the iPhone. Cryptically, the analysts say that they believe the screen's dimensions in the casing will "extend vertically as well as horizontally" overlapping the home button, but what that exactly implies isn't immediately clear.

Also not clear is exactly who Barclays met with. The reports have little or no new information, and appear to be little more than regurgitations of previous, hazy, reports out of China.

The report of 5- and 5.8-inch screens in any new "iPhone 8" aren't new, and have circulated since March. Reports from the supply chain differ regarding a 4.7-inch phone, with a report in October suggesting that there would be no 5-inch "iPhone 8," supporting the smaller size instead.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Very simple. If iPhone 8 bezel becomes thin or bezel-less and screen covers most of front because the Home button is under screen than there is all kind of flexibility to sizes of iPhone 8.. And still overall size of iPhone don't increase. Hope, turns out true. love it.
    edited November 2016 watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 17
    leptonlepton Posts: 111member
    My thought is you fill the entire front with the screen. Where the bottom bezel was, that's where the iOS dock sits. Add a fifth, permanent icon to the dock, which is the Home button. The Dock stays visible in an app unless the app specifically asks, in which case it can be called up with an up swipe from the bottom edge, when you get the control panel coming up, with the dock at its top.
    r00fus1watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    lepton said:
    My thought is you fill the entire front with the screen. Where the bottom bezel was, that's where the iOS dock sits. Add a fifth, permanent icon to the dock, which is the Home button. The Dock stays visible in an app unless the app specifically asks, in which case it can be called up with an up swipe from the bottom edge, when you get the control panel coming up, with the dock at its top.
    Worse experience than now in my view. A better idea is no permanent doc, as you suggested, but rather the home button becomes a tiny dot the user can feel with their finger with the addition of a subtle visual hint perhaps painted into the glass, and the chin-bezel is greatly reduced vertically to perhaps half its current height. Nothing new to learn; always there; easy to use and understand; takes up less space.

    You are trading ease of use, discoverability and the always-single-press design solely to get rid of the chin. My design reduces the chin by half and keeps current ease-of-use in tact. I'd prefer mine. 
    edited November 2016
  • Reply 4 of 17
    mrboba1mrboba1 Posts: 276member
    Using the same dimensions as the 7 and 7+ with no bezel and a curved screen, the same size phone can fit both of these screen sizes, taking the entire width of the existing phones.

    On the 5", it gives about 2/3 of an inch of non-screen space for the top and the bottom and the 5.8 would have over an inch. The 7 and 7+ both have roughly 1.3" each, give or take. So they can fit and still have some room for hardware outside of the screen.

    I think they are going to fit these screens into the roughly the same sized phones we have now (maybe only different by a mm), because they wouldn't want to make them too different in size.
    edited November 2016
  • Reply 5 of 17
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,958member
    But what about the "curve?" Do they mean the glass? If so, curved surface, curved edges, both? Or do they mean the back case is curved?
  • Reply 6 of 17
    80s_Apple_Guy80s_Apple_Guy Posts: 286member

    True or not, I'm really sick of Apple treating the smaller model as the poor cousin. I get some things are sieve related like the dual cameras, but the screen not being the same? That's crap. Especially as they spent years telling us how important it was to be small and fit in one hand.

    lmagooshunting123
  • Reply 7 of 17
    yojimbo007yojimbo007 Posts: 1,165member
    believe?
    well i belive these are all rumors and fud... designed to take attention away from the the fantastic iphone 7 lineup....
    why.. manipulation.... after all these are securities trading houses.. where manipulations are rooted  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 17
    franklinjackconfranklinjackcon Posts: 612member
    ireland said:
    lepton said:
    My thought is you fill the entire front with the screen. Where the bottom bezel was, that's where the iOS dock sits. Add a fifth, permanent icon to the dock, which is the Home button. The Dock stays visible in an app unless the app specifically asks, in which case it can be called up with an up swipe from the bottom edge, when you get the control panel coming up, with the dock at its top.
    Worse experience than now in my view. A better idea is no permanent doc, as you suggested, but rather the home button becomes a tiny dot the user can feel with their finger with the addition of a subtle visual hint perhaps painted into the glass, and the chin-bezel is greatly reduced vertically to perhaps half its current height. Nothing new to learn; always there; easy to use and understand; takes up less space.

    You are trading ease of use, discoverability and the always-single-press design solely to get rid of the chin. My design reduces the chin by half and keeps current ease-of-use in tact. I'd prefer mine. 
    You really don't lose anything by having a home/back button that disappears when an app needs full screen. In Android, e.g. if you are watching youtube you just tap anywhere and the home/back buttons reappear and you can use them. It's an extra tap, yes, but comes very naturally and gives you back that screen real estate when you want it. You know where the middle/bottom of the screen is, you don't need to feel it physically anymore than you do for any other icon. Side/back buttons should be physical but not ones on the front of the phone
    macgui
  • Reply 9 of 17
    king editor the grateking editor the grate Posts: 646member
    The mockup from 2013 retains earphone jack. Interesting glimpse of future/now from the past. 
  • Reply 10 of 17
    1st1st Posts: 443member
    OLED is good for bezel-less (flexibility possible).  hopefully, the iphone would have nature  color... not saturated color that most of OLED on market... good to have water proof for OLED too... don't like the hydro-gen yellow green if got soaked... hopefully, who ever that "businessman" visit supplier not mistake xiaomi mi-max bezel less glass breaking phone as iphone  8. (I was told it was on market Nov. 4). 
  • Reply 11 of 17
    stukestuke Posts: 122member
    Yes, the 3.5 mm headphone jack is back!  ;)
  • Reply 12 of 17
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,101member
    yojimbo007 said:
    believe?
    well i belive these are all rumors and fud... designed to take attention away from the the fantastic iphone 7 lineup....
    why.. manipulation.... after all these are securities trading houses.. where manipulations are rooted  
    I agree.
    I bought the 7 plus but was hesitant as I was thinking about all these rumors of an upcoming redesign in 2017. I'm glad I made the purchase, it is a fantastic product inside and out.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 17
    frantisekfrantisek Posts: 756member
    It will be very interesting how will Apple handle bottom and top part of iPhone. Especially home button solution. Whether there will be any physical representation on screen or whether it will be similar to iPhone 7 and just will make no side bezel screen design. And it is important whether Apple will stick to their one hand use mantra. Then it would not be probable they will stick home button into icon bar because reachability issues.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    wood1208 said:
    Very simple. If iPhone 8 bezel becomes thin or bezel-less and screen covers most of front because the Home button is under screen than there is all kind of flexibility to sizes of iPhone 8.. And still overall size of iPhone don't increase. Hope, turns out true. love it.
    Forget the aspect ratio? Psss! I don't see the point of bezel less bullshit. It doesn't add any benefit. Apple doesn't do gimmicks just for cosmetic purpose. No!
    edited November 2016
  • Reply 15 of 17
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    You guys talk about bezel less without thinking of aspect ratio. If Apple can reduce side bezels to none, they can increase total ~ 3mm width. With 16:9 aspect ratio, the length of the screen increases ~ 5.33mm. So you'll ~2.7mm for top and bottom bezels. Now, who the hell cares that tiny ass extra screen? I don't see the point of Apple doing this. 
  • Reply 16 of 17
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,316member
    Yet on 4.2 or 4 inch to attract the existing customers that have been holding out and causing the decline in growth.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    haarhaar Posts: 563member
    What the hell is apple doing?... if apple can not duplicate, so they can fix it, the samsung "on fire"  debacle...
    this iPhone will literally be a hot phone!.
    why do we need a curved phone?.
Sign In or Register to comment.