Apple to launch three iPhone models in 2017

Samsung OLED

The tenth anniversary of the iPhone is set to be a big year, according to the latest report from Nikkei. Sources tell the Japanese publication that Apple indeed plans to reveal a curved OLED-display iPhone, confirming previous rumors. The flagship device would be accompanied by updates to the current 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Plus form factors, bringing the total number of iPhone models to three.

What would set the OLED version apart from the others is a curved display. Samsung currently offers the Galaxy S7 Edge, which showcases the technology (pictured above). With a display that curves slightly around the edge of the smartphone, information can be displayed directly on the side of the device. Previous reports have pointed to a 5.8-inch OLED display being supplied for the 10th-anniversary iPhone, which could mean a wraparound edge is in the works for the next flagship iPhone Plus.

Besides allowing for curved display designs, OLED technology offers improvements over current LCD screens including lower power consumption, better contrast, and wider viewing angles. The iPhone 8 has also been said to include an all-new case design, featuring a glass back.

Still other reports have speculated that the 2017 iPhone will include even more radical changes. This list includes a front panel entirely covered by an edge-to-edge OLED display. The home button could even be hidden completely underneath the display, revealing no physical home button. A design like this would mean the front of the iPhone 8 is completely uniform, with no sensors or bezels visible at all.

Look for the iPhone 7 to hit shelves in the next few weeks, and for more iPhone 8 rumors to ramp up ahead of its September 2017 launch.