iPhone 8 Launch Could Be As Late As This
Apple will unveil the iPhone 8 in September, along side its less glamorous siblings, the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. There seems to be very little argument about that. When you will actually be able to buy, much less hold, an iPhone 8 is the one subject to debate. According to Japanese fansite Mac Otakara, the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone might launch near the end of the year, confirming some speculation, as well as fears, for a very "L8" iPhone 8.
Mac Otakara's sources, which come from component suppliers, the iPhone 8 could launch in the first fiscal quarter of 2018, which October to December this year. Because of production delays and supply issues, the iPhone 8 will be running and late and might not even start shipping until November 2017 at the earliest. That said, it most likely won't negatively affects sales, but it will, at the very least, affect when Apple will be able to add those numbers to its earnings.
Those same suppliers refute theories that the Touch ID might be under the iPhone 8's power button. That theory came from a recent leak of an iPhone dummy unit that revealed an extra large power button. Suppliers, however, say that there is no hole there to make room for Touch ID. Unfortunately, they also don't know where Touch ID will really be.
That does leave the option of 3D facial recognition, something that Mac Otakara does seem to support.There are a variety of sensors in the display cutout at the top of the nearly bezel-less screen, though they will be mostly invisible. There is also now a rumor that the iPhone 8 will support a "raise to unlock" gestures.
Lastly, Mac Otakara says there might be no white iPhone 8. That is, no iPhone 8 with a white front. This could mean that there will be limited color options, because a few of those, like Rose Gold and Red, only go with a white front. That said, having white on a screen with almost no bezels does break the illusion, so the decision might be purely cosmetic rather than practical.
VIA: Mac Otakara