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 Why The Long Wait

The wait is over. As of today, the iPhone 8 is officially in production at Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, China. You can finally put your life on hold for one more year with the release date for 2019 iPhones. The iPhone X was released back in September 2017 and earlier this year Apple promised that there would be 9 new iPhones released each year until 2020. So as it stands there will only be 6 iPhones (not including a 2018 iPhone) release each year from now on because of this change in production practices by Apple, not to mention how many people are waiting for an upgrade?

Apple just announced their "Best Year Ever" and that means bigger things are coming our way...

Just like last year, the wait is going to be long. If you're thinking about getting a new phone in the next 12 months and want to upgrade from an iPhone 6 or earlier then chances are you'll have to wait until at least May 2019. This is because Apple has announced that they now plan on releasing two new phones each year instead of just one, which is why we will see two major upgrades per year instead of one. This means that the phones released later this year will not include audio jack or a home button, just like all of the other phones released by Apple in 2019 and beyond. Screens on these phones will be edge to edge, meaning the camera notch will be a thing of the past and you may even see screens that feature a cutout for the front facing camera.

As for this year's phones, Apple has officially announced that we can expect three new iPhone models to come our way – two major upgrades followed by a bigger iPhone X model. The smaller of the two will have an upgraded screen resolution and it is likely that it will have an all screen design similar to the iPhone X but with regular bezels and no notch or hole in the display like we've seen on other Android phones. The bigger model is sure to have an even bigger screen but it's also likely that both screens will continue to have LCD displays and not OLED displays like the original iPhone X. Both of these new phones are also expected to come with a faster A12 processor and support for TrueDepth cameras for Face ID, which means no more physical home buttons. The inclusion of TrueDepth cameras will also enable the front facing camera to do more advanced things, possibly allowing it to record in HD which was only previously available on the iPhone 8 Plus released last year. Like last year, all three new iPhones will probably be offered in three colors: gold, silver and space gray and they may all be upgraded versions of the current iPhone X released last Fall.

If you're thinking about upgrading from another iPhone model then the wait might be a little longer, but if you're really in need of an upgrade from the iPhone 6 or earlier then it might not be worth waiting in line because they're not going to offer anything new that you can't already get elsewhere. The good news is that this device will support all of the new features that are coming our way, including Face ID. This means no more home button and no more physical camera either. More importantly, Apple is going to change the design a bit and it is likely that this model will include an edge to edge screen. No one knows whether this device is going to be released now or in the fall but I'd be surprised if they don't release it before then. The iPhone X was released last year in September and it's my opinion that Apple will release a new model around the same time of year, so more on this situation once we have more information.

Update: It's been confirmed that all three of these devices are coming our way but one will be far too big to use with wireless earbuds like those made by Apple. More on this situation as we get new information.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be released in September, the iPhone X will be released in November and the new line of iPhones that will have edge to edge screens are currently scheduled for a December release date. All of these new phones will also feature A12 processors but there is no word on whether they will support wireless charging or not. The glass on the front and back of these devices is expected to be strengthened with improvements made in regards to how it doesn't break when dropped, but it's likely that Apple is going to make this glass even thicker than what was featured on the iPhone X or what was featured on last year's models.

The new iPhone SE 2 is also rumored to be released in September and it will probably be sold alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, but it is unclear whether Apple will release a new version each year or if they'll just keep updating the same model year after year. The best thing about this phone is that there won't be any notch cutouts on the screen and all of the other features from last year's model are also expected to be present in this year's model. It may even feature an edge to edge screen, which would mean Apple dropping physical home buttons for good after adding Face ID last year. I'd expect to see a faster A12 processor, better cameras, support for fast charging and possibly even wireless charging.

In regards to this year's iPad lineup, Apple is expected to release pricing and release dates for the new iPad models during September. I'd expect them to come in just like last year – a 256GB model and a 512GB model with both featuring 9.7" screens. The new models are expected to have larger batteries, but they'll still be about the same size as the current models. We don't know whether or not these will be upgraded processors or if they'll still use an A9 processor, but it's safe to say that Apple will probably make some sort of improvement over last year's models and not repeat the mistake that was made with the 2018 iPad Pro.

In terms of Apple's other products such as AirPods and Beats headphones, there is no word on when these two products are going to be updated. There is a possibility that they might get an update at the same time as the new iPhone lineup, but this is only speculation at this point. AirPods work best when paired with a device that has Bluetooth 5 but so does every other wireless headphone that uses Bluetooth technology which means it could take a long time before any new AirPods arrive for us to buy. I'd also expect to see an updated Beats Solo 3 Wireless sometime between September and November, but it's hard to say exactly when we're going to see it or what new features will be added.

Conclusion

Apple may not be saying a lot about the upcoming new iPhone lineup but we do know that they're going to be much more advanced than the iPhone X. We have no idea what these phones are going to look like but I can tell you that Apple is definitely going to improve Face ID, which is one of the things that I don't understand why they didn't do last year. If I were at all bothered by the lack of a home button and TrueDepth cameras, then I'd complain about Face ID last year when it was just a technology experiment and not an actual product with new features. However, if it's an actual product with new features then I think this technology is pretty great.