Apple’s next-gen iPhone’s “overall size will be similar to that of the iPhone 7, but it will include an OLED screen that is slightly larger than the one on the iPhone 7 Plus (5.5-inches),” Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the product. “The phone will have symmetrical, slim bezels around the entirety of the screen, meaning the area below the screen that used to house the home button and the area above the screen for the earpiece have been removed. The earpiece, facial recognition sensor, and selfie camera are instead present in a cutout, or ‘notch,’ at the top of the screen.”
“The new screen is rounded on the corners, while current iPhone screens have square corners. The power button on the right side of phone is longer so it is easier to press while holding the device in one hand, according to the images and the people,” Gurman reports. “The screen is also noticeably taller than the iPhone 7 Plus’s screen, meaning it could show more of a web page or additional text messages, the people said. The phone will still have six vertical rows of apps, showing 24 icons on each page, excluding the dock, a grey bar at the bottom that houses commonly used apps. The dock is redesigned with a new interface similar to the one on the iPad version of iOS 11.”
“Apple has opted to not hide the notch area at the top of the screen, showing a definitive cutout at the top of apps with non-black backgrounds. The cutout is noticeable during app usage in the middle of the very top of the screen, where the status bar (the area that shows cellular reception, the time, and battery life) would normally be placed,” Gurman reports. “Instead, the status bar will be split into left and right sides, which some Apple employees call “ears” internally. In images of recent test devices, the left side shows the time while the area on the right side of the notch displays cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity and remaining battery life. Because of limited space, the status bar could change based on the task at hand, according to a person familiar with the testing.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Inelegant kludge.
Three ways Apple could do this. I picked “bunny” ears version since it’s in their own images from the leak. #iphone8 pic.twitter.com/fiCFWoC9kC
— Max 🇺🇦 (@talkaboutdesign) August 11, 2017
Again with that awful cutout… We doubt that Apple would execute the display in such a way as to draw attention to a black cutout containing the FaceTime camera, earpiece, etc. More likely, the thin top of the display on either side would remain off limits to anything but the deepest OLED black into which such a cutout would simply disappear. Also, why would Apple cram battery, carrier, Wi-Fi, signal strength into those areaa as it only works in portrait mode. What happens to those areas on either side of that cutout when the iPhone is in landscape mode?
Unfortunately for those with taste and design sense, it looks like we doubted wrong. (Apple’s design “choices” as of late: Smart Battery Case, Apple TV Siri remote*, OLED iPhone notched cutout… can you tell that Jony’s either lost interest, is at Apple in name only, and/or has otherwise checked out?)
Oh well, even with that awful cutout, we’ll manage to live with it somehow! 😉
#iPhone8 Hands-on Video
(sort of 😁)(Dummy + Printed Picture + Screen Protector) pic.twitter.com/gkKjWH0tLe
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) June 23, 2017
*Absolutely shitty design about which Apple should be deeply embarrassed.
SEE ALSO:
It’s time we embraced Apple’s notched/cutout OLED iPhone display – August 11, 2017
New ‘iPhone 8’ video reveals what Apple’s device might look like at launch – June 23, 2017
Newly leaked cases claim to show Apple’s iPhone 8 – June 21, 2017
New video and photos of ‘iPhone 8’ dummy unit show vertical camera, black and silver case, and more – June 20, 2017
Newly leaked ‘iPhone 8’ parts give glimpse into rumored design – June 12, 2017
Pundits suspect Apple’s Jony Ive no longer involved in iPhone, Mac product design – November 22, 2016
Where is Jony Ive? – March 28, 2016
Obviously, Jony Ive is preparing to retire from Apple – May 27, 2015
Jony Ive is Apple’s next Steve Jobs – May 27, 2015
What Jony Ive’s ‘promotion’ really means – May 26, 2015
Now Jony Ive will have an even bigger influence over Apple’s image – May 26, 2015
Stephen Fry meets Jony Ive, Apple’s newly-promoted chief design officer – May 26, 2015
Jony Ive gives up day-to-day managerial duties to focus on big picture – May 26, 2015
Jony Ive promoted to ‘Chief Design Officer’ – May 25, 2015
