2018 6.5-Inch iPhone to Be Similar in Size to iPhone 8 Plus, iOS 12 Could Feature Horizontal Face ID Support

Apple's upcoming 6.5-inch OLED iPhone, one of the three smartphones planned for 2018, will be about "the same size" as the iPhone 8 Plus, according to a "reliable supplier source" cited by Japanese blog Mac Otakara.

The site says the 6.5-inch device could be 0.2mm thicker than the iPhone 8 Plus due to the rear camera design, however, which will include a vertical dual-lens camera. The iPhone 8 Plus measures in at 7.5mm thick, while the iPhone X, which the new 6.5-inch iPhone will be modeled after, measures in at 7.7mm.

A mockup of the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone, via Mac Otakara
When it comes to dimensions, the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus is 6.24 inches long and 3.07 inches wide, but on that device, there are sizable bezels at the top and bottom. On the 6.5-inch iPhone, which can be thought of as a sort of "iPhone X Plus," there will be slimmer bezels and no Home button, with the display spanning from edge-to-edge.

As for the next-generation 5.8-inch OLED device that will follow the iPhone X, Mac Otakara says it will use the same body as the current iPhone X, but it will feature a larger rear camera lens attributable to a bigger camera sensor.

Rumors have suggested that the third device Apple plans on introducing, a lower-cost iPhone with an LCD display, will measure in at 6.1 inches, but Mac Otakara believes it could instead be a bit smaller at six inches.

It will feature Face ID, but it may only have a single rear camera like the iPhone 8, compared to the dual-lens setup expected for Apple's two more expensive OLED devices. Former KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said to expect a single rear camera.

In addition to predicting features for Apple's 2018 iPhones, Mac Otakara's report suggests that iOS 12, the software that will run on both the new devices and existing devices, will feature improvements to Face ID.

Face ID in iOS 12 will reportedly allow users to unlock a device when it is held at a horizontal angle, rather than limiting unlocking via Face ID to the vertical orientation. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the horizontal Face ID support is designed for the upcoming iPad Pro models that are expected to incorporate Face ID and the TrueDepth Camera system. It's also likely that the horizontal support being added for the iPads will also work on iPhones.

More information on what to expect in iOS 12, which will be unveiled in just under a month, can be found in our iOS 12 roundup. Additional details on what to expect in the iPhones coming in 2018, likely in the September timeframe, can be found in our 2018 iPhones roundup.