iPhone 8 release date rumours UK

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The iPhone 8 rumour mill is heating up. We predict the iPhone 8 release date, UK price, tech specs, new features and more. Latest: the CEO of a charging company has been dropping hints that the iPhone 8 could feature a wireless charging range of 15 feet; an analyst has predicted that the next Apple smartphone will be rebranded as the iPhone X; and Apple is ramping up iPhone 8 production 'earlier than expected'.

The iPhone 8 rumour mill is heating up, a month after the launch of the iPhone 7. Apple unveiled the new iPhone 7 alongside its bigger sibling the iPhone 7 Plus during a special event in September last year, so we're now looking ahead to the next generation. In this article, we round up all the rumours about the iPhone 8: the iPhone 8's UK release date (and on sale date), iPhone 8 UK price, iPhone 8 specs and new features. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started.

For advice on the current iPhone range, read our iPhone buying guide and best cheap iPhone deals UK. Or, if you'd like to look even further into the future (covering tech developments that come perilously close to the realms of science-fiction), read iPhone 9 and beyond: From graphene to motion charging.

Recent updates

• Analysts predict iPhone 8 will break thousand-dollar barrier for first time
• Apple said to be ramping up iPhone 8 production earlier than expected
• Designer creates stunning 'iPhone 8 commercial' video
• Apple hardware partner Japan Display confirms it is ready to make curved screens.
• New predictions that Touch ID will be built into the iPhone 8's display and will be joined by a new security feature: facial recognition.
• Reports that Apple is working on big 3D Touch improvements.
• Predictions that late 2017 will see the launch of an 'iPhone X'.
• New Apple patent hints at an edge-to-edge screen on the iPhone 8.
• Cryptic comments point to 15-foot wireless charging and a 5.8-inch screen.

iPhone 8 release date rumours: Release schedule

Macworld's verdict: the iPhone 8 is likely to be released in September 2017.

Before we think about new features you should expect in the iPhones of the future, let's talk about the likely release date schedule. Apple's latest batch of smartphones, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, were released in the autumn of 2016.

After that point it gets harder to predict. Based on the past few years of Apple launches, the generation after that logically ought to be an S update: the iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7s Plus, launched together in autumn 2017 (with the potential of an iPhone SE 2 in spring of 2017, or moved back to launch with them in the autumn). The iPhone 8 - as well as the iPhone 8 Plus - would then finally be unveiled in September 2018.

• Sept 2016: iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
• Mar 2017: iPhone SE 2
• Sept 2017: iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus
• Mar 2018: iPhone SE 3
• Sept 2018: iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

But it may not be that simple. And there are widespread rumours that Apple is going to miss out the iPhone 7s generation - or fold it in with the iPhone 8 launch, in autumn 2017.