Ming-Chi Kuo: three iPhone 8 models coming, 'premium' OLED version with dual camera to sell well
When it comes to knowledge about future iPhones, there is barely an analyst with better track record than KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo. His latest note to the research shop's clients fleshes out a bit more details on the expected iPhone 8 models that are slated to arrive next fall.
Rumors about them are coming fast and furious these days, and some of them are rather contradictory, so it's nice to hear a reputed analyst setting the record straight in a plausible scenario. For example, both Nikkei and Barclays analysts tipped that there will be three models, one of which will have a 5" panel, but that Apple's plans are still in flux, and they are trying different scenarios depending on flexible OLED display yields that will apparently play a part in building at least one of the iPhone 8 models.
Ming-Chi Kuo, however, claims that there might indeed be three models, but two of them will sport 4.7" and 5.5" LCD panel sizes, like the current crop, while the "premium" iPhone 8 version will be with an OLED screen of undisclosed diagonal (previously rumored to be a 5.8" one):
We look for new 2017F iPhones to come in three models: one OLED model, and two TFT-LCD models with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display. We believe the OLED and 5.5-inch TFT-LCD iPhones will feature dual-camera. Based on this prediction, our forecast of dual camera adoption rate in new 2017F iPhone models is revised up from 30-40% to 65-75%. We view this increase as favoring Largan’s sales and profit momentum as it is the exclusive supplier of wide-angle and telephoto lens. It also bodes well for Apple’s dual camera software ecosystem.
The other interesting part here is not that the larger iPhone 8 models will sport Apple's dual camera setup - after all, it made a cameo on the iPhone 7 Plus - but the adoption rate forecast for it. The analyst predicts that the share of iPhone 8 models with dual cameras will be at least 65% of the total new iPhones shipped, which will benefit Taiwan's Largan Precision - Apple's chief lens supplier. This means that Ming-Chi Kuo is expecting healthy interest in the "premium" OLED display model, as before that the forecast was no more than 40% of sales to go to the iPhone 8 Plus, or whatever the eventual 5.5" LCD panel version with dual camera gets called.
Where does all that leave us in terms of the "all-glass" or "edge-to-edge" display iPhone 8 speculation, remains to be seen, but, increasingly, the rumors about a major redesign seem to be referring to the alleged OLED display "premium" version that could pop up alongside the "regular" LCD-laden iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. It might be the one with minimal bezels and home button embedded in the display, with curved 5.8" screen, and all the other wacky shenanigans, while the more orthodox models will fill the needs of those Apple fans who can't imagine their iPhones without a home key, or with a curved display, what do you think about such a scenario?
source: MacRumors
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: