14 DAY TRIAL // Semiconductor analyst Christopher Rolland spoke with multiple Apple suppliers recently and revealed interesting information about Apple’s plans for 2017 iPhones and the new Apple Watch. The analyst also learned some details about iPhones to be announced next year.
First off, the next version of Apple Watch will feature its own cellular modem chip, and therefore it will support LTE. Apple has yet to sign off on the new device’s design and solve some battery life issues, but the company does intend to incorporate AirPod support for making and receiving calls on the Apple Watch. VoIP support and data across a CAT-M1 connection could also be implemented for superior battery life.
Secondly, the analyst gathered even more details about the smartphones that Apple intends to announce this year. The Cupertino company is said to release three iPhone versions, a 4.7-inch iPhone 7s, 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus, and a 5.8-inch OLED iPhone 8.
Previous rumors said that only the anniversary OLED iPhone 8 would have wireless charging, but the analyst suggests that all iPhones to be announced this year will offer the technology developed by Pegatron and Foxconn. However, Apple is facing some issues regarding charging efficiency, as it may take 3 hours to receive a full charge.
This isn’t the only element that Apple has been having some problems with, the elimination of the home button resulted in some technical issues regarding technology validation. Because of this, Apple has yet to fully sign off on this move.
Apple is developing a hybrid port for the 2018 iPhone
Apple is also planning on creating an interoperable hybrid of a Lightning and USB Type-C port, but it won’t be featured on the iPhone 8. Apparently, the new hybrid port will arrive in 2018, while the iPhone 8 will retain its Lightning port.
Moreover, the iPhone 8 will feature “an unusual L-shaped battery”, for greater flexibility in design, thus allowing for an edge-to-edge OLED display on the new phone.
Manufacturing of the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus is set to start in June, while iPhone 8 will be built two months later. Production of A11 chips for the phones is set to start in April. The analyst also revealed that all three phones would be announced during Apple’s presentation in September, but he didn’t say anything about the iPhone 8 being offered in limited supply, as it was previously mentioned.