iPhone 2018 Rumors: Apple to Focus on AR and More Affordable Variants?
The iPhone X has just launched, and industry watchers are already speculating about how Apple can improve on the 10th-anniversary iPhone in 2018. For now, observers agree that the company could be looking to Augmented Reality and more lineup choices to keep iPhone fans coming back next year.
Apple could be looking at the next wave of Augmented Reality devices via the Apple Glass, but that could be no closer than two years away, given the current state of the technology in wearable gadgets. For now, Apple could be looking to add more AR capabilities to the next iPhone to bridge the gap.
The company has touted AR as the next frontier in smartphones, so iPhone fans can expect the new models over the next few years to place emphasis on that, according to Tom's Guide.
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Next year's model, if Apple could pull it off, could have new laser sensors similar to the current depth sensors that make Face ID possible. These sensors could be designed to map the space around an iPhone user to place AR objects properly in view.
This might be more of a possibility for the 2019 iPhone, though, as Bloomberg notes. The new laser sensors could also work differently from the current depth sensors, which is evident in their prospective discussions with suppliers of 3D sensing technologies like Sony and Panasonic.
For now, progress on AR hinges on the new ARKit software tool that Apple launched this year. The new toolset lets developers make apps for the iPhone AR, although it is still in its early stages.
Known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo at KGI Securities, meanwhile, has offered his speculation on the next iPhone 2018 lineup. According to Kuo via MacWorld, the next iPhone could have three models, one of which will use older LCD technology to cover ranges lower than the iPhone X's $1,000 price tag.
