iPhone 8 release date, news, specs rumors: Apple's latest deal hints next iPhone's OLED screen panel

The new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets were only released almost two months ago, but the rumors are already rife for the arrival of the revolutionary iPhone 8 next year. The next iteration of the iPhone will be released on the tenth anniversary of Apple's flagship handset. This would suggest that the Cupertino-based tech giant will present a very different iPhone from the previous ones.

One of the rumored bold changes that the iPhone 8 will have is the switch from the traditional LCD screens to the OLED panel display. It may not be too far-fetched if the public expects the iPhone 8 to use OLED display, given that Apple has already incorporated the OLED panel to this year's MacBook Pro version, and the Apple Watch Series 2. It will only be a matter of time until the handset department of Apple adopts the OLED display as well.

According to BGR, there are now more hints confirming the big switch to OLED screen for the iPhone 8. The company itself has made a move that would suggest that their future devices, the iPhone 8 included, will make use of OLED display. Specifically, Apple's latest huge deal as shown in their recent Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K filing reveals the huge amount of OLED panels that they have purchased.

J.P. Morgan, an analyst from the Apple Insider, claims that this huge purchase order with more than one-year duration is quite substantial. The purchase amount goes up to $4 billion, which means that the OLED screens are most likely to stay in the company for a long time.

On the other hand, Apple is also rumored to introduce an augmented reality mapping system for the first time on an iPhone device. As reported by Value Walk, Apple was granted a patent for this system which will allow the handset to give users a real-time augmented view of their surroundings. This is made possible by the specialized hardware and sensors to be incorporated to the iPhone 8. Aside from the current hype with virtual reality (VR) platform, the iPhone 8's augmented reality (AR) system might just be the next big thing in the industry.