New Features of the iPhone 8

 The new generation of Apple’s goliath iPhone is slated to hit the store shelves in October 2014. With Google’s popular Android quickly surpassing Apple in market share, Apple is definitely going to be on the defensive with this next release. If there was ever a time for Apple to woo consumers with the new iPhone 8, that time is now.

Every iteration of the iPhone has gotten a slew of new functions and features, and the iPhone 8 will surely be no exception to this rule. So far Apple has been relatively quiet regarding the details of their new phone, but that doesn’t stop the rumor mill from churning.

The iPhone 8 will likely be the first 4G phone available on both AT&T and Sprint 4G networks. The iPhone 8 has recently become available on Sprint’s 4G network, but AT&T hasn’t yet launched their 4G service. It’s unlikely the iPhone 8 will be the first to sport 4G status as the 4G network isn’t expected to launch until late in 2011 at the earliest, and the iPhone 5 is expected to be released in the fall.

One of the coolest new features will be an edge-to-edge screen. The entire face of the iPhone 8 is likely to be a screen. This is likely to eliminate the physical home button or to integrate it directly into the screen somehow. A new, bigger 3.7” LCD screen is already in production.

Wireless charging is another new feature a lot of people will be excited about. Electromagnets charge the battery inside your device without the need to plug it in. This is called inductive charging, and it will eliminate the need for a port-cable connection. This technology isn’t new, but it’s finally becoming standard which will give Apple the option to eliminate the plug-in port altogether.

iOS6 is likely to debut around the same time as the release of the iPhone 8, and with every new release comes increasing complexity. This puts even increasing strain on the processor. To remedy this, Apple has announced the new A6 processor that will be shared by the iPad 3. It will be a much faster processor to handle the new version of iOS.

The new iPhone 8 is also likely to have an extended battery life, much more storage (64GB and 128GB models), and a new 8 megapixel camera. While these things may be great, it’s more or less what we’ve come to expect from a new release.

This is likely just the tip of the iceberg. No doubt Apple still has a few tricks of their sleeve for the new iPhone 8. We will all be waiting patiently until then.