Friday, January 20, 2017

Apple iPhone 8 leak hints at wireless charging and facial recognition capabilities confirmed by a new report

There’s a lot of excitement and buzz around Apple’s next generation iPhone, which coincides with 10th anniversary of the phone this year. Ahead of an official launch, as has become a norm, there are plenty of leaks, rumors and speculations about the upcoming iPhone, also dubbed as the iPhone 8. Besides improvements in design and performance, one of the most talked about expected features of the iPhone 8 has been the wireless charging. Adding more fuel to fire, a new report from a Chinese publication Commercial Times has ‘confirmed’ the feature.

Citing “industry sources”, the publication claims Apple has signed Lite-On Semi, a semiconductor company, to supply the required GPP bridge rectifiers, which are believed to be needed to make wireless charging work. The Taiwanese company is reportedly providing only half of the components. There’s no information on which other partner is providing these components.

It’s not the first time that the iPhone 8 is being rumored to support wireless charging. Back in October last year, Nikkei Asian Review had reported that Apple’s main manufacturing partner, Foxconn, was building wireless charging modules for 2017 iPhones. Though the report cautioned the release of the technology will “depend on whether Foxconn can boost the yield rate to a satisfactory level later on.”

READ : Apple To Hike Price Of IOS Apps In UK, India, And Turkey

The latest leak about iPhone 8 wireless charging feature also adds weight to rumors about this year’s iPhone having glass back, considering brands haven’t evolved a technique to wireless charging through metal. Apple is likely to implement a wireless technology from Wattup that uses radio frequencies to charge devices from up to 15 feet away. Energous, the company behind Wattup, had also hinted at its technology being used in Apple devices.

“One of the largest consumer electronic companies in the world. I cannot tell you who it is, but I can virtual guarantee that you have products from this company on your person, sitting on your desk, or at home,” CEO Steve Rizzone had said.

Apart from wireless charging, one of the most exciting features expected on iPhone 8 is inclusion of a facial recognition feature. The company is expected to include a new laser sensor, which will allow the iPhone to do AR-VR based tasks. A research note by Cowen and Company, which it supplied to its clients, claims Apple is going to include gesture or facial recognition using the front camera module on iPhones.

So far, Apple has been rumored to be prepping three variants of the iPhone 2017, including one with a curved AMOLED touchscreen. There will be two LCD models at 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch and a third OLED model (with curved screen) at 5.8-inch. The OLED model is expected to have a smaller active display area between 5.1 and 5.2-inches. It is also likely to come with IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.