IELTS Reading # iPhone Successor
The below post has been taken from THE TIME. You can read the post at – THE TIME.
Apple doesn’t usually unveil its new iPhones until September, but the rumors are already circulating about what fans should expect from this year’s model. The successor to the iPhone 7, which may be called the iPhone 7s or iPhone 8, could be a more noticeable departure from the current iPhone’s design. This year’s release will also mark 10 years since the original iPhone launched in 2007.
Here’s a look at what’s been reported about Apple’s next iPhone so far.
Better screen technology
Apple may use an OLED (organic light emitting diode) screen for its next iPhone instead of an LCD display, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. These types of screens offer better contrast than LCD displays, and are often brighter. The blacks in OLED screens are also deeper than those of LCD displays, making colors pop more prominently.
Apple already uses OLED display technology for the Apple Watch, while other tech giants, like Samsung, have been using variants of OLED screens in their smartphones for years. It’s unclear whether or not all new iProhone models will feature an OLED screen or if Apple will reserve them for its high-end variant, as a report from Nikkei Asian Review indicates.
A curved screen
Certain iPhone models may feature a screen that’s curved on both sides similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge, according to Nikkei Asian Review. This rounded model will likely be more expensive than the standard edition and may be 5.5-inches or larger, says the report. If Apple indeed decides to give its next iPhone a curved screen, it will likely use an OLED display, as those types of screens are more flexible than their LCD counterparts.
Facial recognition
Apple could add facial recognition to its upcoming iPhone, according to Cowen and Company’s Timothy Arcuri. In a recent note, which Apple Insider published, Arcuri predicts Apple may place an infrared sensor next to the front-facing camera to enable the phone to recognize a user’s face. Separately, Digitimes has reported that Apple plans to add an iris scanner to its next iPhone, although it’s worth noting the website hasn’t always been accurate about future Apple products in the past. Samsung introduced a similar feature on its ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which included an iris scanner that allowed owners to unlock their phone just by looking at it.
A new name
Apple traditionally releases its new iPhones on a tick-tock cycle, either giving them a title that includes just a number or a number paired with an “S.” For its next iPhone, however, the company may break this habit by simply calling it iPhone X, as Loup Venture’s Gene Munster predicts.
“Apple will likely break from its historical naming convention and call this iPhone something other than iPhone 7S or iPhone 8 because it will be the 10th anniversary iPhone,” Munster writes. “Like they did with the 10th version of the Mac OS, it seems logical that they’ll call the next iPhone: iPhone X.”
Three models to choose from
The introduction of a curved iPhone could mean that Apple plans to offer its next smartphone in three variants instead of two. Apple may release 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones with flat screens and then an additional model with a rounded display, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
A new design with no home button
Apple hasn’t significantly redesigned its iPhone since it unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014. That could change in 2017. The company reportedly plans to overhaul the next iPhone with a new design that includes an edge-poto-edge glass screen and no home button, according to The Wall Street Journal.
These changes would let Apple get rid of the borders around the iPhone’s display, potentially allowing it to make the phone’s screen larger without having to increase the size of the overall device. Further changes could include a glass back similar to that of the iPhone 4 and 4s rather than the aluminum design of Apple’s more recent iPhones, says a note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Wireless charging
Future iPhone owners may not have to plug their phones into a power cord to charge it. Apple is said to be testing wireless charging technology that could appear in iPhones as soon as 2017, according to reports from Bloomberg and Nikkei Asian Review. Wireless charging has existed in certain Android smartphones for years, but Apple could be exploring a method that makes it possible to power iPhones from a distance, Bloomberg reports. It’s unclear how close that technology is to a commercial release, however.
| WORD | MEANING |
|---|---|
| unveil | remove a veil or covering from, in particular uncover (a new monument or work of art) as part of a public ceremony. |
| rumors | a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth. |
| circulating | move continuously or freely through a closed system or area. |
| successor | a person or thing that succeeds another. |
| departure | the action of leaving, especially to start a journey. |
| reported | give a spoken or written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated. |
| contrast | the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association. |
| displays | put (something) in a prominent place in order that it may readily be seen. |
| prominently | with an important role; to a large extent. |
| Hig-end | denoting the most expensive of a range of products. |
| variant | a form or version of something that differs in some respect from other forms of the same thing or from a standard. |
| announcements | a formal public statement about a fact, occurrence, or intention. |
| touchscreen | a display device which allows the user to interact with a computer by touching areas on the screen. |
| rounded | having a smooth, curved surface. |
| expensive | costing a lot of money. |
| edition | a particular form or version of a published text. |
| flexible | capable of bending easily without breaking. |
| counterparts | a person or thing that corresponds to or has the same function as another person or thing in a different place or situation. |
| facial | of or affecting the face. |
| recognition | the action or process of recognizing or being recognized, in particular: |
| significantly | in a sufficiently great or important way as to be worthy of attention. |
| redesigned | design (something) again or in a different way. |
| unveiled | remove a veil or covering from, in particular uncover (a new monument or work of art) as part of a public ceremony. |
| reportedly | according to what some say (used to express the speaker's belief that the information given is not necessarily true). |
| Edge-to-edge | to move edgeways |
| potentially | with the capacity to develop or happen in the future. |
| almunium | the chemical element of atomic number 13, a light silvery-grey metal. |
| securities | the state of being free from danger or threat. |
| power cord | A power cord, line cord, or mains cable is a cable that temporarily connects an appliance to the mains electricity supply via a wall socket or extension cord. |
| wireless charging | Wireless charging is the process of electrically charging battery-powered devices and equipment without the need for a wired electrical power connection. It enables the wireless transfer of electrical charge from a charging device or node to the recipient device. |
| technology | the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. |
| commercial | concerned with or engaged in commerce. |
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