It's only been around a month since the iPhone 7 was released, but that doesn't mean the Apple speculation ever takes a holiday.

With the latest member of the Cupertino giant's smartphone family being a solid but not groundbreaking upgrade, many are tipping next year's update to offer the company's most significant changes to the line in some time, Digital Spy said.

Cue, then, a number of recently released patents which point towards Apple mixing up the design of the tentatively named iPhone 7S - or should that be iPhone 8?

Apple Insider has picked up on three granted applications which appear to suggest a future version will house a more powerful camera (as always) and, more interestingly, new sensor tech that could finally result in the iPhone offering a full-screen front display without the so-called forehead and chin bars, Digital Spy said.

As TechRadar notes, the patents include concepts for a display-integrated light sensor, which is essentially a way to split light using cubical prisms, and a miniaturised camera capable of "super resolution".

Camera specifics aside, a new sensor is perhaps the biggest takeaway of these patents, as this could potentially lead to an all-screen front that has been hinted in the past and teased on a recent concept phone from Sharp.

Now, of course, with such a long time to wait until anything official regarding Apple's next handset, and nothing guaranteed in the world of patents, be sure not to get too excited just yet, Digital Spy said.