The iPhone 8 Will Be Thicker, But It's for a Very Good Reason

Apple’s next iPhone could signal the start of a new trend. Measurements for the iPhone 8, leaked Wednesday, show a thicker device than its predecessor. It would be a dramatic move from a company famed for its obsession with thinness, but it could lead to more battery capacity.

Benjamin Geskin, a Latvian leaker who has been at the forefront of iPhone 8 leaks, posted the schematics on his Twitter page. The documents reveal the new phone will be 0.41mm thicker than the iPhone 7.

Why the extra size? Geskin tells Inverse that this is likely due to the number of extra features set to be included. The phone will feature a much larger display, 5.8 inches, in a similar sized device to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. The cameras and sensors will be pushed closer to the top, creating a near bezel-free display.

But another reason that Geskin notes is something Apple fans have been clamoring for for a long time: more battery capacity. The current iPhone 7 has a 1,960 mAh battery, and the 7 Plus has a 2,900 mAh battery. It’s unclear at this stage which size battery the iPhone 8 will have, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed in February that the new device would manage to contain an impressive 2,700 mAh, two-cell pack. To achieve this, the cells would be arranged in an L shape, but Apple may also reach this size by increasing the case thickness.

In most years, a larger battery and display would be headline features, but the iPhone 8 is no ordinary device. Set to launch 10 years after the first iPhone, rumors have been swirling about a number of premium features, including wireless charging and an OLED display that could display deeper blacks than ever before.

Apple has a reputation for obsessing over thickness, but the company’s iPhones have grown marginally thicker before. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were 6.9mm and 7.1mm thick, respectively, but the 6S series of devices added an extra 0.2mm to both. Much like the iPhone 8, the 6S’s added size is explained by the introduction of new features; in that instance, a new pressure-sensitive “3D Touch” screen.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 8 this fall alongside two cheaper phones expected to be branded as the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus.