iPhone 8 Rumors: Apple to Release iPhone With Glass Casing, AMOLED Screen in 2017

Apple is beefing up its next generation iPhone for 2017. According to Macrumors.com, Apple is making the iPhone a little fancier by adding an upgraded glass casing, and a non-aluminum casing. Macrumors cited KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo as the source for its information.

“If iPhone 7 still uses an aluminum casing in 2016, it will be the fifth year in a row that iPhone has done so, which means there is no longer a feeling of freshness to appeal to consumers. Also, a lot of Apple’s (US) competitors are also adopting aluminum casings, which means iPhone no longer has a clear edge due to a lack of differentiation. On expectations that iPhone shipments will decline in 2016, we believe Apple will be more strongly motivated to use non-aluminum casings in 2017 in a bid to enhance the competitiveness of iPhone by offering an all-new form-factor design.” Kuo told Macrumors. “Apple already uses glass casing for iPhone 4/ 4S, and non-Apple brands have also been using glass casings. We therefore think a drop test will not be problematic for glass casing. A glass casing may be slightly heavier than an aluminum one of the same thickness, but the difference is so small that the use of the thinner and lighter AMOLED panel will compensate for that.”

Kuo was also cited saying that at least one model in Apple’s 2017 iPhone lineup could have a 5.8-inch OLED screen with curved glass casing.