Everything we’re hearing about the iPhone 8 paints it as Apple’s ambitious attempt to remake the iPhone into a cutting-edge device. But one of the costs of ambition is that it knows no schedule, and rumors are beginning to swirl that the iPhone 8 will be delayed.
To be fair, like any rumors, you should have a grain of salt handy, but “slow your roll” is definitely the current buzz going around, thanks in part to Apple’s plans to include a 3D camera:
…our contact strongly believes the 5.8-inch iPhone 8 will be delayed by several weeks due to challenges around the 3D sensing technology but still in time for the December holidays. This is not the first time that we have heard about a potential delay with a new iPhone; however, our contact was so emphatic about the delay that we are taking this data point more seriously.
3D cameras, if you’re unfamiliar, use two lenses to create the illusion of depth in a photo. You could, for example, take a photo and then click on the background to bring it into focus. It’s also a highly useful tool to create augmented reality, or AR, apps, which Apple is strongly interested in and which Tim Cook has viewed as the next step for the tech industry. Incorporating AR technology into the iPhone would be a good way for Apple to deliver on the anticipation of delivering a blockbuster phone for the iPhone’s tenth anniversary and put it ahead of its competitors.
Of course, Apple still has time to defeat this problem, and even the most Apple-hating rumormongers seem to think this is a matter of announcing preorders in September for a phone that’ll show up by Christmas.
(via Business Insider)