Paul Morris on March 8, 2017, 9:51 pm

Report: Apple’s 2017 Flagship May Be Called ‘iPhone Edition’, Will Launch After 7s And 7s Plus

One of the latest reports pertaining to Apple’s rumored flagship 2017 iPhone has once again thrown the cat amongst the pigeons and muddied the already murky waters.

Hit-and-miss Japanese website Macotakara is back with yet another iPhone-related report, this time suggesting that the previously discussed 5-inch model is going to be Apple’s flagship high-end model, and that Tim Cook’s company is currently in the process of testing multiple different prototypes before finalizing on an actual design which will be released under the ‘iPhone Edition’ moniker.

Consumers could be forgiven for thinking that Apple would have actually finalized all designs and specifications of the high-end device by now. However, these new reports seem to suggest that company is still in process of testing multiple prototypes.

Some of those pre-release versions are equipped with a physical Home button, and with others having that Home button removed in favor of a ‘function area‘. The company is also said to be testing prototype versions of the hardware complete with LCD technology, and some which have made the move across to OLED displays as has been rumored for some time now.

One interesting aspect of the report suggests that Apple has actually moved to finalize a number of areas pertaining to the new device. To that end, it’s being suggested that the flagship model will actually ship with a 5-inch display, but whether that is LCD TFT or OLED remains to be seen.

It is also unknown if this is a totally different device to the rumored 5.8-inch model with approximately 5-5.15-inches of usable real estate. The flagship model will also ship with dual-cameras, and integrated wireless charging which is something that has never been included in any iPhone to date.

Many sources and analysts have consistently predicted, and stayed true to their beliefs, that Apple’s next-generation flagship will ship with OLED technology. It seems that it remains the internal mission of Apple to make that change, but it’s currently unclear whether or not the business will be able to get a consistently reliable stream of panels in order to manufacture the hardware in the required numbers if OLED is the chosen technology.

Apple is expected to announce the ‘iPhone Edition’ alongside the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus at a dedicated event in September, with the Edition model actually releasing to the public much later than the other two devices.

(Source: Macotakara [Google Translate], Top image: iPhone 8 prediction)