iPhone 8 release date, specs rumors: All-glass bodywork, wireless charging await next iPhone?

iPhone 8 is yet to be announced in a fairly distant future, but speculations on what specs to expect from the next smartphone keep coming. The latest forecast points to an all-glass bodywork that will be more favorable for another speculated feature, wireless charging.

The report came from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's latest research notes obtained by MacRumors. It notes, "We believe one of the reasons why new iPhones will switch from metal casing to glass casing is to support wireless charging. In order to ensure a superior performance, we believe it is most appropriate for EMS suppliers to develop and make the wireless charger because then a comprehensive test can be conducted. ... We expect Pegatron will be the exclusive supplier of the wireless charger."

Kuo's research note complements with earlier reports that a source "familiar with the matter" told Asian Nikkei Review that test modules for wireless charging on iPhone 8 are being conducted at Foxconn, the principal manufacturer of iPhone.

As per Kuo's research note, shifting to an all-glass bodywork is essential if Apple wants to have an effective wireless charging feature. According to the report, wireless frequency has a tolerance for metal alloys which in effect can avoid a faster-charging feature for iPhone 8.

There have also been reports that Apple might be facing some problems with their plans of making the next line of iPhone with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display because the supplies might be limited.

According to a Bloomberg report, if the OLED panel supplies cannot keep up with the projected demands for the next iPhones, Apple might end up compromising their original plans and end up releasing a higher-end variant with an OLED screen instead of giving all iPhone 8 variants OLED panels.

The news about Apple's plan of shifting to OLED screens was first revealed by Sharp president Tai Jeng Wu who said in a speaking engagement, "There is all this talk about OLEDs, but I'm not at all sure about their future. We need to work on developing the technology, but whether we can succeed remains to be seen." Sharp Corp. is one of Apple's main OLED suppliers.

iPhone 8 is expected to be released in 2017 in time for iPhone's 10th anniversary.