In a new report by KGI’s
Ming-Chi Kuo, the reliable Apple analyst claims that the iPhone will be seeing
a major redesign in 2017, dropping the iconic aluminum casing for an all-glass
enclosure with AMOLED screen.
This follows on from another of Kuo’s reports in late March, where he first suggested Apple will return to an iPhone design akin to the iPhone 4. It does not seem like the iPhone 7 for 2016 will be seeing such a major overhaul, breaking Apple’s tick-tock pattern of a significant chassis redesign every other generation.
Kuo
believes that Apple will be moving to an all-glass enclosure, dropping
aluminum completely as it will no longer appear modern or fresh in 2017.
Apple’s smartphone competitors are also adopting aluminum designs in
droves, making it more likely Apple will want to differentiate
with entirely new materials.
Kuo does not elaborate on how
Apple will make the next iPhone entirely out of glass, so currently the
specifics of the drastic redesign will have to be left to the imagination. Apple
used glass for the iPhone 4/4s front and back, but this was sandwiched
together with a stainless steel band. It’s currently unclear how an iPhone
could be constructed primarily out of glass.
The new
glass phone will also feature a new AMOLED display panel, which will be thinner
and lighter to compensate for the slight weight increase of glass compared
with metal exteriors. Kuo does not believe that drop test issues will be a
roadblock in Apple’s decision making, given the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s already
relied heavily on glass front and back. Last week, Apple reportedly reached a $2.6 billion agreement with Samsung to supply OLED panels for
iPhone displays
It definitely seems
like Apple is saving a major new iPhone form factor for 2017, which
leaves Apple’s 2016 iPhone 7 refresh somewhat in question. Leaks
to date have shown very modest changes for the iPhone 7, with a
design largely the same as the existing iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
models. It certainly looks like Apple’s next big refresh for the
iPhone will not come to light this year, perhaps earlier in 2017
if not the fall. So far, the biggest new thing for the iPhone 7 appears to be
the addition of a dual-camera for better pictures, although rumors have
indicated this will be exclusive to the 5.5 inch iPhone 7 Plus.
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