iPhone 8 Tipped to Be Sized Like 4.7-inch iPhone 7, Sport Larger Battery

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is on a roll, and his latest report is indicative of the iPhone 8's improved battery capacity. The analyst, who is seldom wrong, claims that the iPhone 8 will sport dimensions similar to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 - but will have a battery capacity nearly as large as the one seen on the iPhone 7 Plus.

In Kuo's latest note, he claims that the innards of the iPhone 8 will be tweaked to incorporate a larger battery life - as much as 2700mAh capacity. This is close to the current iPhone 7 Plus' battery which is at 2900mAh battery. He also seems to point to the use of a 5-inch or smaller display on the iPhone 8, as he says the smartphone will have dimensions similar to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. This, when coupled with previous rumours that the iPhone 8 will have virtually no bezels, appears to cement the use of a 5-inch display. Combined with a larger battery used for the iPhone 7 Plus in the previous generation, alongside the lower power consumption of OLED displays, and we can expect significantly better battery life.

"As battery material tech isn't likely to see major breakthroughs in the next 3-5 years, mainboard area can only be reduced via stacked SLP, which makes space for larger battery and extended usage time. Thanks to stacked SLP, we expect the OLED iPhone to have similar dimensions to a 4.7-inch TFT-LCD iPhone, and have comparable battery capacity (equipped with around 2,700 mAh L-shaped 2-cell battery pack) to a 5.5-inch TFT-LCD iPhone. The battery life of the OLED iPhone could be better than that of the 5.5-inch TFT-LCD model as OLED panels are more energy-efficient than their TFT-LCD counterparts," Kuo writes.

If this is true, Apple will finally manage to address a major pain point in iPhones - battery life. It could come as a welcome improvement for many loyalists, and will be the big USP at launch for the company. Kuo refrains from noting whether the display is a wraparound one that looks to ditch the Home Button altogether, or not. In one of his recent reports, Kuo also claimed that the iPhone 8 will have an improved 3D Touch feature, and the Touch ID sensor will be embedded underneath the display.

He also claimed that Apple is developing an optical fingerprint sensor and facial recognition sensor that will look to redefine security in future iPhone models, however it won't be seen in the iPhone 8 scheduled to launch this year in fall.