Supposed iPhone 8 schematics have surfaced ahead of the handset’s official unveiling this fall, revealing significant changes to its physical design.
As previous reports have suggested, the Home button has been removed to make room for a larger display, and there’s no sign of a fingerprint scanner elsewhere.
We’re long overdue for an iPhone redesign, and it just so happens that 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of Apple’s insanely successful smartphone. Everything points to a spectacular refresh with major changes and improvements.
These schematics, leaked by Benjamin Geskin on Twitter, promise exactly that.
We should point out that the sketches are based on an iPhone 8 prototype, so even if they’re accurate, the final design could change. But they indicate Apple could be about to do away with the handset’s physical Home button in favor of a larger display.
The screen appears to expand to the edges of the device, leaving no room for chunky bezels. If Apple retains the same 16:9 aspect ratio we’re used to seeing on iPhone, there’s space for a smaller 17:9 display beneath it that could function as a mini Touch Bar similar to the one on the latest MacBook Pros.
https://twitter.com/VenyaGeskin1/status/850305689662750720
A slim frame appears to hold together what are likely to be two glass panels front and back, but the drawing suggests they will be flat, not curved like Samsung’s.
The sleep button, SIM card tray, volume rocker and mute switch all remain in familiar positions, but the setup of the rear-facing cameras has changed. One lens now sits on top of the other, rather than by its side like on the iPhone 7 Plus.
There’s no sign of a fingerprint scanner anywhere, which means Apple could well be planning to embed it beneath the handset’s display, as some reports have claimed. It might not be the only biometric security option, either.
Look closely and you’ll notice two larger sensors to the left side of the handset’s front-facing speaker. One of these is likely to be a FaceTime camera, while the other could well be an iris and/or facial recognition scanner. It could also be a 3D camera, Geskin suggests.
On the top edge of the device, there are two small holes that are likely to accommodate microphones. The bottom edge leaves room for a speaker, a microphone and a Lightning port. Apple clearly hasn’t changed its mind about the headphone jack.
The rough sketches below were reportedly drawn by a factory worker assembling iPhone 8 prototypes.
https://twitter.com/VenyaGeskin1/status/850239979464777728
It goes without saying that you should take these sketches and schematics with a pinch of salt. It’s very easy to fake something like this, so we’d be silly to read too much into it. However, Geskin did leak reliable information about the Galaxy S8 ahead of its debut.
