iPhones of the future?
Apple looks to the future
Watch out for better photography, thinner cameras, faster internet, and foldable displays.
Last quarter saw the arrival of iPhone X, the most amazing iPhone since the original. But tech doesn’t stand still, and Apple certainly doesn’t. Some recent Apple patents, business moves, and rumors are hinting at what might be coming down the line.
One such rumor is that Apple is working on a dual SIM variant for the next range of iPhones, as well as pushing in some new gigabit LTE technology for faster internet.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities — who has a good track record of predicting what Apple will do — has shared a report that claims the 2018 iPhone upgrades will include faster antenna modules. Instead of the current 2x2 antenna modules, new iPhones could feature a 4x4 MIMO setup.
While carriers and networks supporting gigabit LTE are few and far between at the moment, Apple including the new tech will future-proof these devices, and you’ll have generally faster speeds even before your network or carrier embraces gigabit LTE.
Kuo also says Apple may be experimenting with a dual SIM variant to enter its phone line for the very first time. He said: “2H18 iPhone models won’t only offer faster LTE transmission speed: We predict that at least one of the 2H18 new iPhone models will support dual-SIM dual standby (DSDS).
“Unlike existing DSDS phones, which commonly support LTE+3G connections, we believe nextgeneration iPhone models will support LTE+LTE connections, in a bid to enhance the user experience.”
Dual LTE capabilities may, however, appear not in the regular iPhone 9 but in a different model of phone, possibly a cheaper device for developing markets. We won’t know for sure until the second half of 2018, which is when we expect to see Apple release its new handsets.
Meanwhile, news of Apple’s latest acquisition has led to speculation that better low-light photos may be on the cards on iPhones. Apple has acquired InVisage Technologies, which has developed a material that can be used in miniature camera modules to enable them to capture more light. InVisage says its QuantumFilm sensor material “absorbs the same amount of light as silicon in a layer ten times thinner.” This might enable future iPhones to have much smaller camera systems, much better low-light performance, or both.
Elsewhere, specialist Applewatcher Patently Apple has spotted Patents suggest the future is foldable.
an intriguing patent filed by Apple for an electronic device with a flexible display which can be folded in half, hinting that we might be seeing a foldable iPhone at some point in the future.
Liquidmetal is mentioned as a possible material, which would make sense since Apple has long had exclusive rights to the amorphous material in consumer electronics, yet so far has done little with it.
The patent also mentions the possible use of a micro-LED display, which is more energyefficient and thinner than OLED, and has previously been rumored for inclusion on an Apple Watch. With Apple only just now moving to OLED for the iPhone X, we wouldn’t expect another change in technology very soon, but if Apple’s strategy is now to offer a whole range of different iPhones — and it seems it is — it may be only a matter of time before we see a foldable iPhone you can fold in half and slip into your wallet.