We’re getting to that time of the year when Apple is preparing to bring their new flagship smartphone to the market. Last year, Apple broke with tradition, delivering two new models, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. This year will see three new models if the rumours are right. But they’re not the only changes Apple will be bringing.
New Models
We’ll see a revised iPhone X. It will outwardly look like the current model but the OLED display will be replaced with an LCD panel, Force Touch will be gone and have a single rear camera. It’s also likely the less expensive iPhone will have an aluminium frame rather than stainless steel according to 9to5 Mac. That will be bring the price down significantly over the current iPhone X. If this pans out, I suspect that it will usurp the iPhone SE from the line-up.
A higher spec iPhone X is a near certainty. An updated A12 processor combined with iOS 12 is delivering faster performance than the current model according to benchmarks that BGR says were leaked by Geekbench.
In keeping with the option of a larger display option, we can also expect an iPhone X Plus.
That leaves us with the iPhone 9. It will be an update of the current iPhone 8 and look similar but have the newer A12 processor.
Old Models To Be Retired
Apple iPhone range has grown in recent years. Looking at it now, there’s the iPhone SE, 6S, 7, 8 and X. By the time you throw the Plus versions in, that’s eight different devices, each in multiple colours and with varying capacity options.
That’s exactly the kind of product spread Steve Jobs disliked and dismantled when he came back to Apple after his forced exit.
I think we’ll see the 6S and 7 leave the range. An updated SE may come but I think it’s more likely to be replaced with the new model LCD-based iPhone X clone.
The Lightning Cable Has A Year Left
Apple has never been shy about cutting support for what they consider legacy standards – even the ones they champion. This year, we can expect the new iPhones to ship with USB-C to Lightning chargers that run at 18w. That means much faster charging.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/07/report-the-iphone-is-getting-a-usb-c-fast-charger/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/07/Apple-iPhone-410×231.jpg” title=”Images: The Next iPhone’s USB-C Fast Charger May Have Been Leaked” excerpt=”]
A Japanese blog has leaked images of what it purports is the next iPhone’s fast charger. As predicted, it seems the new iPhone models will finally be ditching USB-A – although Apple’s proprietary Lightning port is apparently here to stay. Here are the photos!”]
We can expect the 2019 iPhones to ditch the Lightning connector with USB-C taking over at both ends of the charging cable.
Release Date
Since the release of the iPhone 5, almost every new iPhone SE and iPhone X has been released during the third week of September, more or less in conjunction with the availability of the latest version of iOS. We can expect the same this year. I’m tipping a September 21 release date in Australia.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.