Has Apple caught the Nokia nostalgia bug? iPhone 8 tipped to look like 2007 original

First it was Nokia and the new 3310, and now Apple is set to take us down memory lane with the next iPhone. Due to be launched in September, the new handset will come on the tenth anniversary of the original, and as such already has the weight of an "anniversary special" on its shoulders.

Now, reports from Korea claim the new phone will hark back to the 2007 original by featuring a more curved design. Where the current iPhone 7 curves only slightly between its front, back and four edges, the new model will taper much more.

Unlike the first iPhone, which featured a metal and plastic back, and the iPhone 3G and 3GS, which were both covered in glossy plastic, the 2017 model will have glass on both its front and back. But, unlike the similarly constructed iPhone 4 and 4S, the new phone will lose the slab-sided look in favour of a "droplet design" which will be "gentle and rounded", reports ETnews.

The back will remain completely flat, to make it compatible with the rumoured wireless charger Apple is said to be working on, but the corners will curve around to the front, which as per many previous reports, will be dominated by a new, larger screen.

Of course, an iPhone built in 2017 will be far slimmer than the decade-old original – indeed, the iPhone 7 is 7.1mm thick while the first iPhone was 11.6mm. This means the curves will be less obvious than before, but more apparent than on the current model.

It has been rumoured that the new iPhone will feature a curved display similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but now it is unclear how this would look on a phone with large curves on its back.

One explanation is that Apple will launch a range of new handsets with different designs; two updates to the current lineup, called the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus and featuring curved screens, and a third anniversary special with a design mimicking that of the original. This phone is expected to be called either the iPhone 8 or the iPhone Edition.

Apple is expected to reveal the new iPhones at a media event in September, so there is still plenty of time for the rumour mills to give us a clearer picture of what to expect. The only question is, will our love for technology nostalgia be as strong in six months' time?