All kinds of rumors are swirling about what Apple has planned for the iPhone 8 or the iPhone 7S (or both - no one's quite sure about the names yet). Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has just revealed his latest predictions, and as he has a decent track record in the past, they're worth paying attention to.
Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple is looking to improve security on the 2017 iPhones with the introduction of a facial recognition system that will spot who you are and unlock or lock the handset accordingly. It might work alongside rather than replace the Touch ID system that recognizes fingerprints, at least to begin with.
The KGI analyst also repeats rumors we've heard before about the iPhone 8 coming with a curved OLED screen. That's going to require some significant manufacturing skill, says Ming-Chi Kuo, but he thinks Apple and its suppliers can pull it off.
Three new iPhones this year?
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the curved OLED display will require a reworking of the iPhone's 3D Touch system under the screen, and it should emerge more sensitive and more accurate than ever as a result.
Right now most of the leaks and other speculation surrounding the 2017 iPhone range suggests we're going to see small updates in the form of the iPhone 7S and the iPhone 7S Plus, and then a major step forward with the curved, OLED, bezel-free iPhone 8 at the same time - possibly to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the iPhone.
Until Tim Cook takes to the stage in September we don't know anything for definite, but we have been busy compiling all of the rumors we've heard so far. By the time the new iPhones arrive we should have a new version of iOS too - and that might come with its own share of surprises.
