iPhone 8: Release date, price, specs, rumours and news about Apple's flagship smartphone for 2017

Apple is preparing to release its iPhone 8 next week, in what is expected to be the company's biggest smartphone launch in years.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone , which was first announced by Steve Jobs on 9 January 2007, and released later that year on June 29.

Given the momentous occasion, rumour has it that Apple has been holding back some of its most groundbreaking features for its 2017 model.

We've rounded up all the latest rumours and leaks, to give you a sneak preview what Apple has in store.

iPhone 8 release date

Apple is holding an event on September 12 at its newly built headquarters in Cupertino, California, where it is widely expected to unveil the iPhone 8.

This will be the first iPhone launch held at the company's massive new headquarters - known as the "spaceship campus" .

(Image: Apple)

Tim Cook will take to the stage of the Steve Jobs Theatre - named after Apple's legendary co-founder - at 10am Pacific Time, which translates to 6pm here in the UK. As ever, it is expected to be live streamed so thousands of eager Apple fans around the world can watch.

Apple traditionally releases its latest iPhones in mid-September, in good time for the start of the Christmas shopping season. If the company follows its normal pattern, the new iPhones will be available for pre-order from Friday, September 15, and will hit the shelves on September 22.

(Image: Getty)

However, problems with the manufacturing process could mean that supplies are limited, leading to shipping delays for the new handset, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Sources familiar with the matter reportedly told the newspaper that production glitches related to the smartphone's OLED screen have delayed the manufacturing process by about a month.

Carphone Warehouse has already opened a pre-registration page, so if you are looking to pick up the new iPhone as soon as it's released, you can sign up for free here.

Read More Name

Apple traditionally releases a new iPhone every year - redesigning the device every two years and refreshing the internal components and software features on alternate years. This is referred to internally as the "tick-tock" cycle.

The company's naming convention follows the same pattern, so on a "tick" year, the iPhone gets a new number (iPhone 5, 6, 7 etc) and on a "tock" year Apple adds an "s" on the end (iPhone 4s, 5s, 6s etc).

By that logic, the 2017 model would be called the iPhone 7s. However, all the rumours suggest that Apple is planning a fairly major upgrade this year - both in terms of the design and the inner workings of the phone - to mark the 10-year anniversary.

These photos taken in China and obtained by the blog site Apple Insider allegedly show an iPhone with a very different design. (Image: AppleInsider) Read More

It seems unlikely, therefore, that Apple will opt for the name iPhone 7s - as that would downplay the upgrade. It's much more likely that it will be called the iPhone 8.

Apple may even decide to go for something completely different - the iPhone 10 or iPhone X , to mark the anniversary, perhaps, or even the iPhone Air, iPhone Pro or iPhone Edition, to reflect the iPad and Apple watch lineups.

Read More Price

Apple products are not exactly known for being cheap. When the company launched its 'budget' iPhone 5c in 2013, it still cost an eye-watering £469.

But the latest reports suggest that Apple's next device will be its most expensive yet, exceeding the $1,000 (£757) mark for the first time.

The price was reportedly leaked to The Fast Company by "a source with knowledge of Apple's plans" in February. Some more recent estimates put the price of the top model as high as $1,200 (£908).

Part of the reason for the high price tag is that the iPhone 8 is rumoured to have a new OLED display that will stretch across the whole front of the phone, according to the source. The OLED display will cost Apple roughly twice as much as the LCD display used in current iPhones.

The new phone is also likely to get a memory upgrade from the current iPhone 7 line, which will add to the cost of manufacturing the device.

Read More Apple Event 2017 TL;DR

Rumours and leaks about the new iPhone have been filling the internet for months – so we've picked out some of the most likely ones and discussed their implications in the debut episode of our Future File podcast. You can listen to it right here:

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All-glass design

Apple is allegedly planning a major design overhaul for the iPhone 8.

Instead of the aluminium casing used in the iPhone 7 , Apple will move to an all-glass enclosure.

Could this be the iPhone 8? (Image: SlashLeaks)

This wouldn't be the first time Apple has used glass in its iPhones. The iPhone 4 and 4s had glass front and back panels, with a stainless steel band sandwiched between the two.

However, these phones were plagued by durability issues, with many customers claiming their phones cracked too easily when dropped .

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo noted that some investors are concerned that glass casing would be too heavy or fail a drop test, but said he believes a return to glass will not be problematic for Apple.

The phone screen break is the fear of all avid smartphone users (Image: Getty)

"Apple already uses glass casing for iPhone 4/ 4S, and non-Apple brands have also been using glass casings. We therefore think a drop test will not be problematic for glass casing," he wrote in his report, according to MacRumours .

"A glass casing may be slightly heavier than an aluminum one of the same thickness, but the difference is so small that the use of the thinner and lighter AMOLED panel will compensate for that."

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The rumour has been backed up by a couple of other leaks. A source reportedly told Japanese website Nikkei that "Foxconn has been trying glass chassis' since last year."

The arguments to be made for a glass smartphone include better antenna reception and more options for wireless charging .

Curved OLED 'True Tone' display

The iPhone 8 is said to feature a 5.8-inch OLED "True Tone" display with virtually no bezels - similar to that used on Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.

While the 5.8-inch screen size makes it sound like the iPhone 8 will be massive, the screen-to-body ratio will be higher than on iPhone current models, so although the display area will be bigger, the phone itself could actually be smaller than the iPhone 7s Plus, which has a 5.5-inch display.

True Tone, first introduced with the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, automatically adjusts the intensity of white light to suit the lighting conditions in the room. 9to5mac claims the display will have a resolution of 1125×2436.

Some reports also suggest that the edges of the display will be curved - like on Samsung's Galaxy S8. Although there is no functional reason to have a curved screen, Samsung has been seeing significantly higher sales of the curved versions of its Galaxy smartphones.

Concept image of an iPhone with curved OLED display (Image: Martin Hajek)

In March 2016, Nikkei reported that Apple was planning to ditch LCD displays in favour of OLED screens, with the first OLED iPhone arriving in 2017.

Then in April 2017, DigiTimes reported that Apple had signed a two-year deal with Samsung to supply the OLED panels.

The deal, which is rumoured to be worth $9 billion, will see Samsung shipping 70-92 million OLED panels to Apple this year, representing 30% of all iPhone devices expected to be sold in 2017.

OLED displays are superior to the LCD panels currently used in Apple's iPhones because, rather than requiring a backlight, an OLED-based screen lights up individual pixels when necessary.

(Image: Martin Hajek) Read More

This translates to blacker blacks and brighter whites, lower power consumption and faster response times compared to LED displays.

Like the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8, the iPhone 8's display could have a new longer aspect ratio, IHS Markit analyst Wayne Lam told MacRumors .

It could also have a 4K resolution - which would make it more suitable for virtual reality applications.

Read More End of the Home button

Rumours have been swirling for some time that Apple is planning to get rid of the traditional physical Home button and replace it with a touch-sensitive digital button.

This was originally rumoured for the iPhone 7, but it's now looking likely that it will be one of the major changes coming with the iPhone 8.

Weidlich has turned the entire front of the futuristic smartphone into a screen (Image: Marek Weidlich)

A Chinese website called Storm reports that the virtual home button will have the same haptic feedback motors used in the iPhone 7 to create the illusion of a Home button, even if it's really just a flat capacitive surface.

Meanwhile, 9to5Mac claims that the Home button could simply by denoted by a line at the bottom of each app.

The biggest challenge appears to be integrating the Touch ID sensor into the display, with some rumours suggesting Apple will get around the problem by moving the fingerprint reader to the back of the phone.

Read More

However, a patent uncovered by Apple Insider appears to reveal how Apple could be planning to incorporate TouchID into the screen .

The patent suggests Apple will use acoustic imaging technology to record a fingerprint.

The technology doesn't need an optical image of your finger. Instead an acoustic transducer under the glass sends so-called 'piezoelectric signals' through the phone when it detects impact. These signals trigger waves sent through the screen.

The returning waves scan the tiny ridges and valleys of your fingerprint to work out if it's actually you or not. Each fingerprint has a unique acoustic pattern that would then allow you access to the phone.

In June, mobile technology firm Qualcomm unveiled a similar "ultrasonic" fingerprint technology that is capable of scanning through thick glass, metal and - crucially - OLED smartphone displays.

The technology works by emitting ultrasonic sound waves, which penetrate the skin of your finger and capture a precise, 3D image of your fingerprint, according to Mashable .

(Image: VIVO)

Qualcomm already provides many of the internal components of Apple's iPhones, but the relationship between the two companies has soured in recent months, due to an ongoing lawsuit.

Mashable claims that Apple is unlikely to use Qualcomm's solution, but could use it as the basis for similar technology developed in-house.

Meanwhile, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 8 could ship without a TouchID fingerprint scanner at all.

Kuo doesn't go into any more detail about how Apple will replace TouchID, but notes that "3D sensing for facial recognition" will be a part of the iPhone 8, suggesting that Apple could replace fingerprint scanning with facial recognition or eye-scanning tech.

(Image: VIVO) Read More Leaked pictures

Designers around the world have been speculating about what Apple has planned, and one artist, Marek Weidlich , has created an intriguing concept video.

Weidlich has turned the entire front of the iPhone into a screen - leaving no home button or any visible bezel.

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Meanwhile, new renders and drawings leaked by Weibo user KK appear to show an iPhone 8 with a curved screen that covers the entire front of the device .

An accompanying dimensional drawing shows that the bezel around the edge of the display is only 4mm thick, with the curved glass on either side of the screen accounting for 2.577mm of that width.

The device itself measures 137.54 x 67.54 mm, which is roughly the same size as the iPhone 7 , but the screen is 5.768 inches diagonally - almost identical to the Galaxy S8 .

(Image: ifanr.com)

The drawing shows a narrow earpiece at the top of the screen, with the selfie camera, microphone and other sensors on either side.

The renderings suggest that these components will all be concealed below the glass, although it is unclear how this would work in reality.

One of the renderings shows the back of the phone with a new vertical dual camera setup.

(Image: ifanr.com)

The veracity of the images cannot be confirmed, but KK has on several occasions shared accurate details about previous devices, according to MacRumours .

Camera

The iPhone 8 is expected the feature a dual-lens rear camera, similar to the one featured on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Given that Apple only unveiled its dual-lens technology in 2016, it is unlikely to make any major changes to it in 2017. However, leaked images show that the two lenses will be positioned vertically rather than horizontally.

(Image: Onleaks)

KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks that Apple's next iPhone could come with a "revolutionary" new selfie camera that uses infrared technology to detect the location and depth of objects in its field of vision.

The 3D camera system could be used for facial recognition, iris recognition and 3D selfies. It could also be used in augmented reality mobile games, to accurately replace a character's head with that of the user, Kuo wrote in a research report seen by 9to5mac.

Smiling teenage girl taking a selfie with smartphone (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

The 3D system works by sending invisible infrared light signals outwards from the phone and then detecting the signals that bounce back off of objects using the 1.4 megapixel infrared receiver.

Kuo said that, in the future, Apple could add 3D sensing technology to its rear cameras as well, removing the need for large dual camera iris systems.

iPhone 8 Specs iPhone concept (Image: Yasser Farahi)

The iPhone 8 will, more than likely, feature an A11 chip, built on ARM's highly-efficient 10nm manufacturing process, and run the next version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 11 .

Apple may decide to keep the same storage options as the iPhone 7 - 32GB, 128GB and 256GB. However, Chinese tipster GeekBar claims that Apple will double the storage capacity at each level, offering a choice of 64GB, 256GB or 512GB.

When does iOS 11 come out? 2017 release date and key features including indoor maps, iMessage payments and looping Live Photos

Wireless charging

Wireless charging has become a common feature of some Android smartphones - including Samsung's latest family of devices - although it is still a lot slower than wired charging methods.

Some of Samsung's devices can already be charged wirelessly (Image: Samsung)

A report in Bloomberg in January claimed that Apple was working on "cutting edge" wireless technology that would allow future iPhones and iPads to be placed further away from charging mats than current smartphones.

The unnamed sources said Apple was working on overcoming "technical barriers including loss of power over distance," and that the technology will feature in iPhones coming out in 2017.

Now pictures have been leaked on Chinese social networking site Weibo by a Foxconn employee, providing a look at the inside of Apple's OLED iPhone.

(Image: Weibo/MacRumours)

The pictures show a large, central black spot, which represents the device's wireless charging coil, according to MacRumours .

Read More Face ID

One of the stand-out features of Samsung 's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, is facial recognition technology, allowing users to unlock their phone by simply looking at it.

Eye scanning on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (Image: PA)

Now eagle-eyed software engineers have found evidence that the same feature could be included in Apple's iPhone 8, by scouring through the code for one of Apple's other gadgets .

The HomePod speaker is Apple's version of the Amazon Echo or Google Home and is set to be launched in December 2017. As the speaker needs to work seamlessly with Apple's new phones, the firmware code contains references to some upcoming features that Apple fans can expect to see.

Revealed on Twitter by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, and later confirmed by 9to5mac, it appears the next iPhone will include an infrared camera that could be used to scan your face, even in the dark.

This technology could allow users to unlock the phone just by looking at it - in a similar way to Samsung's Galaxy S8 smartphone. It would also fit with the rumours of a 3D selfie camera, mentioned above.

Meanwhile, an earlier report from Chinese-language website MoneyDJ.com , picked up by Digitimes , suggests that Apple may be planning to introduce iris recognition technology with the iPhone 8.

According to the report, a Taiwan-based company called Xintec is to start mass producing iris-recognition chips, some of which will be embedded in the 2017 series of iPhones.

Water-resistant

Apple's iPhone 7 is water-resistant to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes - a rating known as IP67, which is the same as the Apple Watch .

It therefore makes sense that Apple would carry this through to the iPhone 8.

IP67 means it will survive a dip in the sink or down the loo, and it won't break if you pour a drink over it, but you probably don't want to take it swimming.

New 'blush gold' colour

Apple's next iPhone X could come in a striking copper colour known as "blush gold", if new leaked photos are to be believed.

The pictures, shared on Twitter by prolific leaker Benjamin Geskin , allegedly come straight from Chinese iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, providing more evidence that Apple is planning to replace its "rose gold" colour variant with a more rusty, copper-like colour.

(Image: Twitter/VenyaGeskin1)

The name "blush gold" is what Foxconn staff are using internally, according to Geskin.

Previously, pictures shared on popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo showed what appears to be Apple's forthcoming iPhone 8 in three colours - white, jet black and a new colour, described then as a "champagne gold".

Chinese website MyDrivers , which first shared the images, said the gold option was "closer to copper" in colour.

(Image: Mac Rumors) Read More

It is not clear whether the devices pictured were taken directly from the supply chain, or if they are dummy models made by non-Apple suppliers based on recent rumours.

However, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a track record of leaking accurate information on Apple products, said that the iPhone X would be available in fewer colour options than the other two models launching in September.

(Image: Mac Rumors)

This is because Apple wants to maintain the iPhone X's "boutique image", according to MacRumours .

Apple's next iPhone could come in a striking "blush gold" colour , if new leaked photos are to be believed.

The pictures, which have not been verified, also show the widely-rumoured vertical dual-lens rear camera, as well as a slightly elongated power button on the side of the device.

AirPods

According to a report from analysts at JPMorgan, seen by 9to5Mac , the iPhone 8 may come bundled with a free pair of AirPods worth £160 in the box.

The wireless earphones were first announced along with the iPhone 7 last year and went on sale just before Christmas. They currently cost £159 to buy in the Apple Store .

(Image: Reuters)

The AirPods link up to your iPhone or Apple Watch via Bluetooth. They use sensors to automatically detect when they are in your ears, and play or pause your music accordingly.

They contain a pair of microphones, so you can control your music, change the volume and check your battery life using Siri.

The AirPods deliver up to 5 hours of listening time on one charge, and come in a special case that doubles as a charger, offering more than 24 hours of listening time in total.

iPhone 7s and 7s Plus A mockup image showing (L-R) the iPhone 7s, iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s Plus (Image: iDrop news)

The iPhone 8 may not be the only iPhone Apple unveils on September 12. The company is currently rumoured to be working on three devices - a flagship iPhone 8 (described above), and two lower-spec models called the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus.

The lower-spec models are intended as direct updates to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, retaining the metal design and 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display sizes of the existing models. However, they will be upgraded with faster processors and software enhancements.

Meanwhile, a report in the Wall Street Journal claimed that Apple has been testing more than 10 different prototypes for its next smartphone.

iPhone 7s and 7s Plus: Release date, price, news and rumours about Apple's 2017 upgrade

Made in the USA? Capitol idea: Invictus is keen on getting into the Senate and serving his voters (Image: Getty)

President Trump has previously said he plans for Apple to build its gadgets in the USA rather than China and that he would offer "incentives" for the company to do so.

This next version of the iPhone is rumoured to be the most expensive yet - possibly due to the higher production costs of building them in the US.

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