2017 iPhone Unlikely To Sport Dual-Lens Camera Just Like iPhone 7, Analyst Explains Why

The iPhone 7 debuted sans the dual-camera system found in its larger brother, the iPhone 7 Plus. And it appears that this setup would be maintained for the upcoming 2017 iPhones or the 10th anniversary iPhones as KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the Cupertino giant would make the high-end camera a larger iPhone-exclusive.

It was found out this Friday that Kuo has talked about the fate of the 2017 iPhones, which are rumored to be major upgrades compared with their predecessors, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. In his statement, which was obtained by Apple Insider, the analyst noted that only the high-end 2017 iPhone models will be sporting the dual-lens camera system due to the application of the technology and Apple’s cost and product segmentation strategy.

“While an attractive addition for avid picture takers and professional photographers, the iPhone 7 Plus dual-camera is not a mass-market killer application yet. Along with its high cost (estimated at over US$30-40) and the necessity for Apple to enhance the added value of high-end iPhone models, we expect only high-end new iPhone models (30-40 percent of them) to have a dual-camera next year,” Kuo said.

Kuo’s statement apparently does not coincide with what other industry insiders and analysts are claiming that the tech giant is going to include the dual-lens camera system across all of the 2017 iPhones. However, it does corroborate the idea that Apple has been debuting its more premium technologies in the larger variants of the iPhones since the two-tier hardware strategy began with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Another surprising prediction from Kuo pertains to his belief that Apple would cut costs for its 10th anniversary iPhones by ditching the OIS in the telephoto lens of the dual-lens camera and making it a wide-angle lens feature only.

As per MacRumors, what Apple has in store for its standard iPhone for the smartphone’s tenth anniversary installment could be internal improvements rather than external enhancements. However, this does not match earlier reports claiming that the 10th anniversary iPhones would ditch the physical Home button and opt for flexible edge-to-edge OLED display panels and even come with an iris scanner and wireless charging technology.

Kuo’s statements comes amid reports stating that the special Jet Black iPhones (exclusive to 128 GB and 256 GB models only) sold out just minutes after preorders for all color variants were announced.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launched on Sept. 7. During its public event, Apple’s Senior VP for Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller proudly said that the new iPhones have been improved in every aspect, so they turned out to be the best iPhones Apple has created thus far.