14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is projected to launch its brand-new iPhone 8 in September, with sales more likely to begin in October or November, and a big part of the smartphone market is now reportedly slowing down chip orders as they’re eagerly awaiting for the new device.
A report from DigiTimes reveals that chip makers have recorded declining orders lately during a time of the year when they would normally go up ahead of the fall, and it’s all because of the imminent debut of the iPhone 8.
While no specifics have been provided, it’s believed most of the chip orders come from Asian phone manufacturers, who are waiting for the iPhone 8 to see the features it brings and to develop similar functionality for their own devices.
“Revolutionary features” coming to the iPhone 8
The aforementioned report says many of Apple’s rivals think the iPhone 8 will come with “revolutionary features,” and because they don’t want to be left behind in the smartphone business, most of them decided to wait until Cupertino unveils its device and only then speed up the development process of new models.
The iPhone 8 is indeed expected to introduce a series of innovations, but most of them would be new only to Apple’s ecosystem, as similar features have been around for a long time on Android devices.
For example, the iPhone 8 could come with a Samsung Galaxy S8-like bezel-less display, but also with wireless charging and fast charging, two features that are already available on Android phones.
On the other hand, the more innovative feature that Apple could embrace might be the fingerprint sensor embedded into the display and which has long been described as a feature not yet mature enough to make it to production. Apple is removing the Home button at the bottom of the iPhone, going instead for an alternative authentication method, with Touch ID integrated into the screen very likely to happen.