Apple is building hardware for next year's iPhone model at its offices in Herzliya, Israel, and referring to it internally as the "iPhone 8," according to an employee there who spoke anonymously to Business Insider. The employee works on soldering components for Apple and gave vague references to how "different" the 2017 iPhone will be from the iPhone 7, which falls in line with rumors about the iPhone 8's radical redesign, without providing detailed information to add to the previous reports.

Still, the naming scheme of next year's iPhone is one of the device's most talked-about aspects. Normally, the smartphone would carry the "iPhone 7s" moniker given that it will be following this year's iPhone 7, but given the major changes Apple plans to introduce to the iPhone in 2017, it seems unlikely the device will receive an "S" name. Because of this, there's a good chance Apple may decide to skip directly to the next full number, naming the 2017 iPhone the iPhone 8.

iphoneconceptimage
The Apple employee speaking with Business Insider keeps this idea alive, mentioning what's coming "next" from Apple and discussing the iPhone 8 "unprompted" in the conversation. The same source, "who only spoke in broken English," added that the 2017 version of the iPhone will have a better camera than the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7, which is expected at this point in Apple's yearly upgrade cycle.

Speaking to Business Insider outside Apple's Herzliya office at Maskit Street 12, the Apple employee said staff in Israel are working on what's coming "next" in Apple's product line, giving a specific mention to "iPhone 8."

The worker used the term "iPhone 8" unprompted in our conversation. That was interesting because the next logical name for the iPhone to be released in 2017 should be "iPhone 7s." iPhone 8 isn't due until 2018.

The radically redesigned iPhone 8 is said to include an all-glass body, edge-to-edge display with the camera and Touch ID integrated into it, no traditional Home Button, and potentially wireless charging. The device's launch will also fall on the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone's debut, back in 2007, leading to even more speculation that Apple will land on a specialized branding instead of a simple "S" naming scheme.

But because it's so early in the rumor cycle -- and because Apple's R&D offices in Herzliya have nothing to do with marketing and branding of the iPhone -- it's best to take today's report with the usual grain of salt. Tim Cook visited the Herzliya offices when they opened last year with rumored focus on storage space, processors, and communications chips being worked on by around 800 employees.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

DavidTheExpert Avatar
85 months ago
Why is this shocking? Did you think Tim Cook would just wake up some day 10 months from now and say "oh ****, we forgot to make another iPhone!"
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
85 months ago
They'll have iPhone 8, 9 and probably 10 prototypes in their labs already.

Man what I wouldn't give to have a tour of that place..
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TrueBlou Avatar
85 months ago
Love it. Work on iPhone 8 is... ongoing? Really, ongoing you say I'd expected them to have stopped by now.

Couldn't resist :D
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smacrumon Avatar
85 months ago
Edit: The picture in the article looks ridiculous. Does anyone really want the earpiece cutting through the display??? No.

Would be nice if Macarumors covered the largest Apple patent unveiling just a couple of weeks ago.

iPhone 8 could be made from ceramic. Bye bye ugly antenna lines.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/revealing-apple-patent-covers-all-new-ceramic-iphone.1997711/

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2016/09/revealing-apple-patent-covers-ceramic-apple-watch-and-all-new-ceramic-iphone.html

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/the-next-all-new-iphone-in-2017-will-be-made-from-ceramic.1993538/
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bubba Satori Avatar
85 months ago
This just in...it will be dark tonight.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple souce Avatar
85 months ago
They might call it "the new iPhone"
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9

Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:58 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9. Like WWDC 2020, 2021, and 2022, WWDC 2023 will be an online event for the most part, and it will be open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will provide online sessions and labs, which will allow...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch

Wednesday March 29, 2023 7:28 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Tuesday March 28, 2023 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an...
home upgrade available feature

PSA: Apple Has Made Its New Home Architecture Update Available Again

Tuesday March 28, 2023 1:50 am PDT by
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December. After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable ...