Virtually everything we learned about the iPhone 8 this week came out of one of Apple’s biggest leaks of all time. Somehow, the company leaked the first firmware for the HomePod speaker, and since that software wasn’t supposed to go public, it did not contain any protections that would prevent developers from finding secrets about the iPhone 8. Even so, there are plenty of iPhone 8 questions left unanswered, and the biggest ones concern the display.
Everyone agrees the iPhone 8’s OLED display will be the phone’s main draw. It’ll extend almost across the entire surface of the front side of the phone, save for a notch at the top where the cameras, speakers, and sensors will sit. There will likely be no physical home button either, which leaves more room for the iPhone 8 to display content on its screen.
This new iPhone design will dictate many user interface changes, and some people already tried to envision how Apple will deal with that top bezel. But there are more display-related questions that remain unanswered, including its specs. For example, what resolution should we expect?
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who inspected the HomePod firmware to share plenty of iPhone 8 details this week, discovered that the iPhone 8 will have a 2436 x 1125 screen. His findings seemed to match a Ming-Chi Kuo prediction from February, and internet analytics data from June.
But Troughton-Smith isn’t quite convinced that Kuo’s prediction was accurate. The well-known analyst said the iPhone 8 will have a 5.8-inch screen with 2800 x 1242 resolution, but only a 5.15-inch portion of that would display apps and other content. That 5.15-inch display would have a 2436 x 1125 resolution. However, it appears there’s absolutely no proof in HomePod’s OS that would back Kuo’s prediction, at least according to the developer:
I have no joke spent all week stressing about KGI's report on iPhone 8 res and how it doesn't square with the code https://t.co/oWPl8GyOJE
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
1125×2436 display area, with home button outside of it? That's a stupidly tall UI. But if home btn was outside, why need periphery insets? pic.twitter.com/QiOBN0Q5Ab
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
An aspect ratio like that'd seem ridiculous for camera, photos, video, any top-pinned UI. iPhone's screen ratio already perfect for video
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
If the 1242×2800 physical res is true, and iOS expects an 1125×2436 UI (part of which is used for the home indicator) then does it upscale?
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
(TL;DR, either UI is super tall, or the device upscales a lower resolution to a higher res panel. Either way, commence designer freakout 😂)
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
Take Kuo's report at its word, and you have a full, super-tall 1125×2436 UI for apps, above a home button OLED area. Nothing in OS confirms pic.twitter.com/bB5MOzH04D
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
There might not be any function area either, he said:
And if it is a function area, what functions does it provide? UIKit doesn't appear to have any new APIs to point to a programmable fn area
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
A few more screenshots of what 1125×2436 'display area' looks like, if all of this space is dedicated to apps pic.twitter.com/NWdPvkqwtQ
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
Worst part is, the Apple Pay front face image aspect ratio seems to match the 1242×2800 purported screen res, and not 1125×2436… ☹️
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 4, 2017
Why so much excitement for the iPhone 8’s screen? The iPhone 8’s screen resolution is a crucial detail, and it’ll have a significant impact on all iOS apps, regardless of whether they’re default iPhone apps made by Apple or App Store apps from third parties. But it looks like the HomePod code doesn’t have all the answers, and we’ll just have to wait for Apple to unveil the handset come September.
