Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

The iPhone 8 is coming, and it’s gonna be big

Published Jun 19th, 2017 6:47PM EDT
iPhone 8 Rumors Screen Resolution
Image: Martin Hajek

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

The iPhone 8 is going to be the most exciting new iPhone this year (or next), featuring a brand new design that will bring some interesting features not seen before. One of them is an almost bezel-free display that will occupy the entire front side of the device. That means users will get a large screen in a body that will closely resemble the current 4.7-inch iPhone. It also means Apple will likely increase the screen resolution to account for the extra height. But because the iPhone 8 is Apple’s flagship smartphone this year, it means the phone’s resolution has to be at least on par with the resolution of the Plus models, if not better.

A new report that BGR can corroborate sheds more light on what the iPhone 8’s screen resolution might be.

Looking at analytics data, MacRumors discovered an increased number of sightings of devices that have a native resolution of 375 x 812 That doesn’t match an iOS device to date. Yet these are all iPhones running iOS 11, with traffic originating from Apple’s headquarters in California, and other locations in the state.

That’s likely the iPhone 8, and that resolution fits earlier predictions from Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo. In February, he said in a research note that the iPhone 8 will likely have a 5.8-inch display with 2800 x 1342 resolution which will include a functional area near the bottom. The actual usable screen portion of the iPhone 8 will measure 5.15-inch diagonally, or 2436 x 1125.

Apple uses pixel doubling or tripling, depending on the device, to increase the sharpness of the screen. That means a 2436 x 1125 resolution scales back to 812 x 375 in analytics data. Which is what MacRumors observed Traffic from such devices intensified in May and June, but they were first spotted last September, the site notes.

Image source: MacRumors

Digging through BGR’s analytics data, we also have observed traffic from iOS devices identified as iPhones sporting the same resolution, 375 x 812. The first event dates back to early April, with more visits having been registered in late May and June, similar to MacRumors.

Image source: Chris Smith, BGR

Naturally, only Apple can confirm the iPhone 8’s specs. But it looks more and more likely that the iPhone 8’s usable screen area will have a resolution of 2436 x 1120 that Apple may choose to rescale to something more familiar. The iPhone Plus has a screen resolution 2208 x 1242, scaled down to 1920 x 1080 (or Full HD).

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.