iPhone 8 could kick off 'unprecedented' upgrade cycle, claims analyst

What do people want in a new iPhone? According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, it's OLED displays, an all-glass design, and wireless charging.

?See also: Could Trump be the catalyst for an all-American iPhone

In a note to clients, Kuo predicts that the iPhone 8 will kick off an "unprecedented replacement demand" resulting in 120 to 150 million units being shifted during the second half of 2017, beating the approximately 120 million record that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set for the second half of 2015.

Much of this demand, claims Kuo, will be driven by a new high-end iPhone 8 that features a new design, low-energy OLED display, and other "notably superior  specifications" that will differentiate it from the "less exciting" 4.7- and 5.5-inch Kuo sees two drivers:                                                                   iPhone handsets.

1) the OLED model may trigger replacement demand among high-end users given its completely all-new-design form factor and notably superior specs in comparison to the TFT-LCD models; and (2) the new 4.7-inch iPhone, featuring glass casing and wireless charging, looks well positioned to tap replacement demand at the entry level.

But selling more iPhones doesn't necessarily mean pulling in more profits. Some analysts are becoming increasingly worried that the iPhone is getting more and more expensive for Apple to manufacture, and that gross margins will continue to erode over the coming years. There are also concerns about the availability of OLED displays as well as the fact that the technology could add around $50 to the manufacturing costs.

Lenovo's Moto isn't planning new smartwatches in the near future

Lenovo Moto on Thursday confirmed it's not planning a successor to the Moto 360 or any new smartwatch in the near future, as excitement around the wearables market slows down.

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Moto 360 review: An elegant modern timepiece that keeps me updated all day long

The Moto 360 was one of the most anticipated smartwatches of the year and after using it for a week, I am convinced it is the best available Android Wear watch you can buy.

Speaking to The Verge, Shakil Barkat, head of global product development at Moto, said the company doesn't "see enough pull in the market to put [a new smartwatch] out at this time." It may revisit the space if technologies for the wrist improve, the executive said.

Barkat also confirmed Moto will shy away from a yearly update cycle for wearables. "Wearables do not have broad enough appeal for us to continue to build on it year after year," he told The Verge.

Moto launched the latest Moto 360 in 2015, replacing the original 2014 model. ZDNet ranked the Moto 360 as one of the top smartwatches on the market at the time.

Moto isn't throwing wearables completely out. "We believe the wrist still has value and there will be a point where they provide value to consumers more than they do today," Barkat said.

The wearables market has shown slowing growth in 2016. Research firm IDC speculates smartwatches will take off when they get independent cell connections and better pricing.

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Microsoft releases a new Windows 10 Creators Update build to Windows Phone Insiders

After several weeks of no new Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update test builds, Microsoft released on December 1 a new Fast Ring build for Windows Phone Insiders.

Windows 10 Creators Update (a k a "Redstone 2") Build 14977adds very little in the new features department. But it does include a bunch of fixes.

(Microsoft officials said there is no new PC test build today due to an unspecified "blocking bug.")

Build 14977 adds the ability to read EPUB file-formatted e-books in Microsoft Edge. It also includes a change in the rendering technology used for many types of Universal Windows Platform apps, as well as some other relatively minor tweaks around OAuth, notifications customizations and more.

On the known issues front, Windows 10 phone users with 8 GB of internal storage -- like the Lumia 550 and 650 -- will receive errors when attempting to update to this build. System related notification toasts don't work. And testers should avoid attempting to install new languages, keyboards and speech packs with this build, Microsoft officials warned.

The Windows 10 Creators Update is expected to be released to mainstream users in the Spring of 2017. The internal ship target for delivery is March 2017, sources have said.

Next week at WinHEC in Shenzen, China, Microsoft is expected to talk to its OEM partners more about features coming in future releases of Windows 10, including the Creators Update. More information on Microsoft's planned addition of the Windows Holographic shell to the Creators Update is likely. I wouldn't be too surprised if OEMs also hear more about "Cobalt," Microsoft's planned x86 on ARM emulation technology, at WinHEC next week, too, even though that feature isn't expected to debut in Windows 10 before Fall 2017.