Next month, Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhones, following months of leaks and rumors. The company is believed to be lining up three flagship-class handsets for its September 12 launch event - and the top-tier device is likely to come with a high price tag.
Apple will be revealing two updated versions of the iPhone 7, which will probably be known as the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. The name of the third device remains a mystery - although some have speculated that it might be called the 'iPhone 8' - but this device will be substantially different from its siblings, and its predecessors.
This higher-end iPhone will follow the recent trend of premium handsets with slim bezels and rounded corners, with a display that fills almost the whole front of the device, which can be clearly seen in a recent video that showed a 'dummy' model of the phone. It's almost certain to have an OLED display - a first for iPhones - with a 'cut-out' at the top to accommodate the front-facing camera and sensors. In another iPhone first, Apple will be ditching the physical home button, with its integrated fingerprint sensor, from the front of the device as well.
According to The New York Times, Apple is planning to charge "around $999" for the iPhone 8 (or whatever it's called). That shouldn't come as a huge shock - a Foxconn executive recently made it clear that the device 'won't be cheap', and after Samsung's announcement that its new Galaxy Note8 will cost around $950, it seems the new iPhone may not cost all that much more.
At $999, it would be priced $250 above the 'entry-level' iPhone 7 Plus, and that raises the possibility of pricier models in the iPhone 8 range. A rumor this week suggested that storage options up to 512GB will be offered, and if the cheapest 64GB model is indeed priced at $999, those variants with more storage will clearly cost well over a thousand bucks.
The NYT report also claimed to confirm that the new iPhone will include wireless charging support and facial recognition features, in line with other recent rumors.
In addition to its latest iPhones, a new Apple TV box with 4K and HDR support is also expected at next month's event, along with a third-generation Apple Watch with integrated 4G LTE connectivity.
Source: The New York Times
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