Ming-Chi Kuo: the iPhone 8 price will start at $1000, active display size is 5.15"


Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI securities is not the first analyst who claims that the iPhone 8 will have a 5.8" wraparound display, yet he is the one with the best track record of predicting Apple's moves based on the proverbial "supply chain sources." His latest memo to clients is so specific, however, that it gives us not only the 5.8" diagonal of the eventual flexible OLED panel for the iPhone 8 when unfurled, but also the resolution, and what will be the size of the active screen portion.

As you can see from his diagram above, the 5.15" display area left is apparently with 2437 x 1125 pixels resolution, while the whole sheet is 2800 x 1242, which leaves plenty of space on the sides and at the bottom for the innovative touch controls that Apple is allegedly toying with, instead of physical buttons. In fact, Ming-Chi Kuo states that the lower portion of the display will be set aside as a "function area," perhaps alluding to some sort of virtual buttons or finger sensing situated there. The analyst is mum as to how exactly will that navigation or sensing space at the bottom be organized, and whether it can transform into a regular screen area while watching movies, browsing, gaming or other activities.

His schematics, however, jibe with numerous reports that Apple will be doing away with the Touch ID button on the OLED iPhone 8, while it will be kept on the "regular" iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, or whatever Apple names the whole set. The company might, however, implement other biometric solutions like iris or face scanning technology. The moral of the whole iPhone-with-flexible-OLED story is that Apple will eventually be able to fit a high-res 5"+ panel in a chassis that is about the size of the current iPhone 7, and we can't wait to see how would that puppy look in practice. 

This latest memo from Ming-Chi Kuo, however, does explain why we have such conflicting reports about the future iPhone 8 screen size, ranging from 5 inches through 5.2 inches, and then all the way up to 5.8". Naughty flexible displays, always confusing people. Last but not least, the reputed analyst reiterates the prediction that the iPhone 8 will land with a $1000 starting tag, which is not hard to fathom, given that the cost of producing it will be 50%-60% higher than that of the regular models. After all, we calculated that just the flexible OLED panels that Apple has reportedly ordered from Samsung, will cost $70 apiece, as opposed to less than $40 on the current iPhone 7. The Galaxy S8 and LG G6 are also said to come with higher tags than their predecessors, but that's apparently the price to pay for the "all-screen," "bezel-less" trend in 2017.

source: Apple Insider
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