New iPhone 2018: What to expect

It doesn’t feel that long ago since the iPhone X was released and we’re already getting very close to the launch of the next one. What is it going to be called? What will it look like and what features will it comprise of? Expect to find all your questions answered in this summary of the 2018 iPhone rumours.

We’re close to the end of August now, which means it’s almost September. Now, I (and I’m sure a lot of you too) can’t deny that there is a great level of excitement as it’s the most anticipated time of the year because it’s basically the month of the iPhone. Apple always announce their latest iPhone in September but it tends to be the most talked about smartphone throughout the year, hence the total excitement and floods of rumours as we get closer to the big reveal. So, whilst we’re still left in the dark, somewhat, here’s an overview of what you can expect of the next iPhone.

What will it be called?

Last year, Apple disregarded their standard naming convention when they skipped the iPhone 9 and went straight to the iPhone X. Obviously, the name makes sense since it was the iPhone’s 10th anniversary but it’s had people questioning what the next iPhone will be called. I mean, going back to 9 now wouldn’t make much sense, would it? So, below is a short list of some potential names that have been accumulated from a range of sources across the Internet.

• iPhone Xs / Xs Plus
• iPhone 11
• iPhone XI
• iPhone X2

I think iPhone XI would make the most sense but Apple may just surprise us altogether. We’ll just have to wait and see but for now we’ll refer to it as the 2018 iPhone.

Design

I think it’s fair to say that the iPhone is a very sleek looking phone but there was a lot of controversy with the introduction of the notch in the iPhone X. Although, that didn’t stop a lot of other Android smartphone makers from copying it. Question is, will Apple remove it? I personally don’t believe so, I mean they only introduced it last year; I think it’s here to stay for a while.

Notch aside, we’re probably not going to be seeing a huge design overhaul in the next iPhone since the iPhone X was a major step up from the iPhone 6, 7 and 8 designs. Therefore, there’s likely to be very little change on the design front.

However, there are rumours floating about there being three iPhone models this year:

• 5.8” OLED display – the successor to the iPhone X
• 6.5” OLED display – a ‘Plus’ version of the iPhone X
• 6.1” LCD display – a cheaper iPhone that will look the same as the iPhone X but without the OLED display and without some of the features such as the dual lens camera.

The above models are what Ming-Chi Kuo predicted and we all know that he’s the best Apple analyst with great accuracy. So, it’s likely and will not be surprising if it is the case.

I like the design of the iPhone X so wouldn’t be too disappointed if the new models look the same, although a bezel-less design would be really awesome. Apple will likely introduce some new colours too, including bringing back Gold and introducing Blue, Red and Orange, which are certainly different and look pretty cool.

Features

The iPhone X was a major upgrade to the iPhone range so it’s likely that we will not get a heap of new features this year. You can expect the usual enhancements, including higher screen resolution, improved processing speeds and a better battery life (25% more capacity than the iPhone X). There are also rumours of 4GB of RAM; the iPhone X has 3GB so this is an improvement and would be an added bonus for sure.

With the camera being a key feature in smartphones today, we’ll probably get an enhanced camera too. We may just get that triple-lens camera, which would be incredible and improved quality in low-light would also be great. But if Apple decided to stick to a dual-lens camera, we’ll no doubt get some form of enhancements.

As for Face ID, we should expect to see it on all three iPhones and not just the most expensive one, which is good news but this is based on Ming-Chi Kuo’s predictions so it’s likely but not guaranteed.

There is also talks about a Dual SIM, which the iPhone has never had. I don’t think it’s a necessity but it could be ideal for some. However, rumours are that this option may only be available in the Chinese market instead of worldwide.

Thoughts

The iPhone X came with some very fantastic and significant upgrades last year so I’m not getting my hopes up this year as Apple don’t tend to bring major upgrades year after year. Saying that, it’s still something to look forward to, namely the 6.5” OLED display which is going to look amazing, if it actually becomes reality. I’m hoping a larger display will mean Apple will offer a bezel-less design but we’ll see.

The usual tech spec boosts are to be expected but support for faster charging would be ideal and a bigger battery is always welcome but we’ll just have to wait and see what Apple unveil next month. We’re just a few weeks away from the announcement now so we’ll soon be able to put the rumours to one side. The iPhone X was announced on 15th September so we should expect this year’s announcement to be somewhere around mid-September. Let the countdown begin.