The iPhone in 2018

The iPhone X just hit stores, but there’s already speculation about 2018’s model. Macworld staff round up all the rumours

It’s not enough that the new iPhone X is only a couple of months old; rumours about next year’s iPhone are already starting to fly. We’ll keep track of what’s been said and what seems feasible in this article so you can keep up with the latest iPhone gossip.

What’s the latest?

A report in Nikkei Asian Review claims that Apple is working on its own power management chips for iOS devices, which it will start integrating into iOS devices in 2018.

Current iOS devices use power management chips made by the UK company Dialog Semiconductor. These chips manage battery charging and the power supplied from the battery to the various components within the phone. Nikkei’s sources say Apple’s new chip will be the most advanced in the industry, and would allow Apple to deliver better performance with longer battery life.

There is some uncertainty as to the timing, however. One of Nikkei’s sources says it will show up in some products next year, while another thinks it might not appear until 2019.

Plausible?

Apple is driving hard to produce as much of its own silicon as possible. For example, it recently started integrating its own graphics processors instead of one licensed from PowerVR. The power management chip plays a crucial role in mobile devices, and seems an obvious component for Apple to bring in-house as opposed to more general commodity components like RAM or flash storage.

A refreshed iPhone SE may be on the way

A report from China’s Economic Daily News claims that an iPhone SE2 (that’s a tentative name) is on the way. The report says it will be assembled by Wistron in India (as the current iPhone SE is) and land in the first half of 2018.

This coincided with an report from Focus Taiwan from a few months ago. Is this just a rumour echo chamber, or independent verification? Plausible?

The current iPhone SE is getting a little old with it’s A9 chip. The new one is said to be a relatively simple refresh, with a similar design and size and an upgrade to the A10. That certainly seems likely, considering the target markets and price point for the iPhone SE. But it is unlikely to satisfy those Apple fans who want all the good stuff found in the iPhone 8 and X in a small phone with a 4in display.