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Nikkei: Apple will release three different all-glass iPhone 8 models next year

Published Oct 26th, 2016 12:38PM EDT
iPhone 8 Rumors Glass Design
Image: Zach Epstein for BGR

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Apple’s “boring” iPhone 7 is a big success, even if the phone looks just like its predecessors. But Apple will come out with a new iPhone design next year, one that will bring with it several major changes. On top of the redesign, a new report now indicates that Apple will do one more thing differently next year: It’ll launch three different iPhone 8 models instead of two.

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According to a report from Nikkei, Apple is working on three new glass iPhones that will feature 4.7-inch, 5-inch, and 5.5-inch displays.

The phones will have glass faces, glass backs and a metal frame to hold everything together. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Apple is going back to an all-glass design, but Nikkei offers more details. Apparently, Biel and Lens are going to make the glass backs for the iPhone 8 models. The iPhone 4S was the second (and last) iPhone to feature an all-glass design.

“Apple has tentatively decided that all the 5.5-inch, 5-inch and 4.7-inch models will have glass backs, departing from metal casings adopted by current iPhones, and Biel and Lens are likely to be providing all the glass backs for the new iPhones next year,” an unnamed source told Nikkei.

Nikkei also reiterates that the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 model will have a curved display and an AMOLED screen, which is something the news agency first reported this past August. The other two handsets will apparently stick to LCD displays, just like the iPhone 7 series.

Also, the news site says Yuanta Investment Consulting analyst Vincent Chen wrote in a note on October 20th that the iPhone 8 will feature wireless charging. Other expected iPhone 8 changes concern the front side of the handset, where Apple is expeced to remove the home button from the iPhone 8 and include the fingerprint sensor under the display.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.