iPhone 2018, New Battery, Specs and Rumours

2018 iPhone mockups by Curved.

Time to talk about the new iPhone/ iPhones coming out this year. So far the highly probable features are the display size and a larger battery capacity. You have probably heard by now that Apple will possibly release three models  this year. Two higher end models with one being a 6.5'' plus size and a 5.8'' similar to the current iPhone X. The third option will be a lower end phone which will have a 6.1" LCD display. 

Specs and features in the upcoming iPhones (2018) 

iPhone X Plus : With the current rumours going around we can expect this device to have screen large as 6.5'' OLED (450 - 500 PPI) edge to edge and ship with the Apple A12 chip (even though the specs are not clear of this chip we can expect a lot from this chip as the A11 Bionic chip is a one of the best chips out in the current market). We can expect a larger battery capacity as it is quite an obvious upgrade for every phone each year. 

iPhone X Lite : This will be Apples mid-tier model, it will probably range between $700 - $800 USD. The target market will be users who wants the iPhone X experience however with less a few features. As most of the rumours go we can be certain the the phone will ship with an edge to edge LCD Display, possible as large as 6.1'' and a pixel density of 320 - 330 PPI. Further more it is rumoured that the phone will have a aluminium body which will lose the capabilities for wireless charging, it is also rumoured that the phone will not have 3D Touch (disappointing) and may only have a single lens camera. This model will feature the iPhone X (2017) true depth camera which will enable Apple's Face ID.

iPhone X 2018 : This will be the phone that will replace the current iPhone X. It will have a screen size of 5.8'' OLED display with a pixel density of 458 PPI edge to edge. According to Digitimes the iPhone 5.8'' may come a LCD display, however lets hope this rumour just to stay as a rumour. 

RAM 

Information on the RAM are quite vague, the current rumours state that the two higher end models (6.5" & 5.8" iPhones) may come with 4GB RAM and the the lower end 6.1'' iPhone will only have 3GB of  RAM.  

Battery 

It is rumored that LG is trying to strike a deal with Apple for the production of displays, therefore it is a possibility that 2018 iPhone OLED displays will be manufactured by LG. According to The Investor, LG may also produce Apple's new L shape battery. 

The current L shape battery consists of two cells and a regulator in between (as shown in image), however the new battery is rumoured to be a single celled battery which means more battery capacity. Hopefully we can say all the models to be released will come with this battery.

Ming-chi kuo stated; 

"given its larger physical size, the iPhone X Plus is also expected to have up to a 25 percent larger battery capacity of 3300 - 3400 mAh vs iPhone X".

According to Nikkei, Apple is developing there own in-house power management chips for use with there iPhone models and that there is possibility where they will feature in the iPhones released in 2018. If the 2018 iPhones ship with these chips we can expect better performance in battery life with the newer iPhone models. There is a possibility that this chip may not make it to the 2018 iPhone but may feature the iPhone in 2019.

Will it be Touch ID or Face ID?  

There was a rumour that Apple will bring back touch ID for the 2018 iPhones. If you look at the effort and time apple spent developing Face ID it is quite obvious that this company might not want to go back. You may say there are so many phone which uses a finger print scanner and facial recognition but will apple bring an old feature back, I doubt it. 

Apple recently cleared this rumour when Apple's chief engineer Dan Riccio stated;

"So we spent no time looking at fingerprints on the back or through the glass or on the side because if we did those things, which would be a last-minute change, they would be a distraction relative to enabling the more important thing that we were trying to achieve, which was Face ID done in a high-quality way". read more.

With this it is easy to confirm that Touch ID's days have passed just like the old headphone jack.

Camera

The true depth camera will remain in all 3 iPhones to be release later this year and the two high end models may get an upgraded sensor to improve Face ID.

The current market speculation on the rear camera is that Apple plans to use a 7P (seven-lens plastic array) or a 2G3P (two-glass three-plastic lens) camera design for the rear camera, however Ming-Chi Kuo contradicts this speculation. He stated;

"With its rear camera specs, iPhone X has managed to strike a phenomenal balance between picture quality and form factor design, in our opinion, given how far we’ve come today technologically. Switching from a 6P lens to a 7P lens or a 2G3P hybrid lens, with camera module design largely similar to iPhone X’s, would make for only limited improvements in aperture performance, we believe."

We still can expect the camera to come with a 7P design however the chances are quite low due to production times and meeting demand.  

LTE speeds & Antena Upgrade

The upcoming iPhone will possibly feature Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) antena modules that will boost the LTE speed of the phone, according to Ming-Chi Kuo the new iPhone will have two LCP modules as same as the current iPhone which supports 2x2 MIMO standards but the new iPhone will support 4x4 MIMO standards.

"Antenna design upgrade a key factor in anticipated boost to LTE transmission speed in new 2H18F iPhone models. As a LTE antenna FPCB material, LCP is superior to PI in properties related to high-frequency, thermal performance and moisture resistance. We predict 2H18 new iPhones will be equipped with two LCP LTE antenna modules same as iPhone X or more, but with higher specs to support 4x4 MIMO standards."

According to Kuo we can expect intel to be the exclusive supplier for the new antena modules for the 2018 iPhone.

''We expect Intel to be the exclusive supplier of baseband chip for 2H18 new iPhone models, while Qualcomm may not have a share of the orders at all".

What we would like to see in the new iPhone

• At least one more colour option 
• Higher & wider range in the true depth sensor (face ID to work from an angle) 
• IP68 rating
• Stable iOS (I believe iOS 12 will fix this "fingers crossed")  

**Please note that the names used to name the new iPhones are not accurate, these names were used as a reference as the naming of the models are not confirmed.** 

If you like this, please subscribe to get the latest updates we will post as soon as we get any leaks.

-The Apple Whisperer

**Sponsored** 

If you like to start building your own Apps try AppZero for FREE, its an online mobile app building platform that can get you started with your very first app (iOS or Android) no app development experience needed.