Is This The iPhone 8?

Does a video clip doing the rounds really show the iPhone 8 that’s due in November? PAT PILCHER pontificates.

Another iPhone 8 leak, another day. What a crazy scene the whole smartphone industry is. Apple have yet to confirm that they’re even launching the iPhone 8, but an almost daily series of leaks means that there isn’t much that isn’t known about Apple’s upcoming smartphone. Now a new video clip has surfaced which gives credence to many earlier rumours, while discrediting others.

There are some caveats. The leaked video shows a dummy iPhone 8, which is provided to case manufacturers in advance by manufacturers such as Apple, so they have the correct physical dimensions for manufacturing protective cases ahead of the iPhone 8 launching. So, while this isn’t an iPhone 8, it is an exact replica of what the iPhone 8 will look like when it finally launches in November.

In the clip, it looks like the phone has been placed on a turntable to slowly rotate and give us a clear a view of its design. As the large front display still has a bezel (although it is small enough to almost be invisible), it is hard to tell conclusively. The screen looks to be marginally taller and wider than that on the iPhone 7+.

Around the back are vertically mounted dual cameras. Two cameras mean depth sensing is possible, and this when paired with some clever software should allow Apple to deliver some yet to be defined augmented reality goodness.

There’s also no sign of a physical home button. It has most likely been replaced by a virtual on-screen version. This creates more screen space and means that as with many Android devices, the button can hide and re-appear when needed.

While there has been a tonne of hype surrounding under-screen fingerprint scanners, the latest rumours point to twin front cameras, which will be able to use depth sensing to 3D map faces for biometric security that is faster and easier to use.

The actual iPhone 8 chassis looks to be alloy which could mean that one persistent rumour, namely that Apple will include wireless charging, could be more wishful thinking that a reality, but who knows?

While the video clip doesn’t show any of this functionality in action, it does validate (assuming it isn’t an elaborate hoax) and confirm iPhone 8’s final design, which unsurprisingly is very iPhone 7-like.