‘iPhone 8’ to Get ‘Function Area’ to Replace Touch ID Button, Start at $1000 USD: KGI

More ‘iPhone 8’ details have emerged from KGI Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been able to correctly predict features from Apple’s product roadmap over the years.

Iphone 8 home button

His latest research note to investors, obtained by AppleInsider, details the full-screened design of the 5.8-inch ’iPhone 8’ will include a new ‘Function area’, to replace the Touch ID Home button. The active diagonal display area is said to be 5.15-inches, with a resolution of 2436 x 1125, with the bottom ‘Function area’ predicted to be dedicated to system functions in the form of virtual buttons.

Based on the image provided by Kuo, ‘iPhone 8’ looks to have nearly the same screen size as an iPhone 7 Plus, but in the form factor of a 4.7-inch iPhone. Earlier this week, the analyst reported the ‘iPhone 8’ battery would increase thanks to an “L” shape design, thanks to an upcoming smaller logic board.

Without Touch ID, Kuo suspects the next ‘iPhone 8’ will introduce biometrics for Apple Pay authentication and security. Previously, the analyst cited possible facial recognition or iris scanning as possible applications.

As for price, Kuo estimates the 5.8-inch ‘iPhone 8’ starting price would debut at $1,000 USD (or about $1 million Canadian dollars #DrEvil), corroborating a previous report by Fast Company. The jump in price is believed to be for more expensive OLED production costs, compared to LCDs used in current iPhones.

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