Ladies and gents, this is the new iPhone 8

Aug 8, 2017 04:27 GMT  ·  By

A new leak reveals the iPhone 8 in all its glory, providing us with an early look at the device ahead of its public unveiling in September.

The photo published by Evan Blass confirms many of the things we’ve already heard about the iPhone, despite showing up framed in a pretty bulky case manufactured by Urban Armor Gear.

But what this leak does is confirm that the iPhone 8 will indeed come with narrow bezels and no home button, as well as with a sensor bar at the top of the display that will be the home of the earpiece, the facial recognition cameras, and the other front-facing sensors.

This rather odd-looking display is what could make the iPhone 8 more expensive, as it costs more for Apple’s partners to manufacture such panels given the non-uniform shape. Foxconn, for instance, says the iPhone 8 won’t be cheap, and although no specifics were provided, it’s believed the device would cost somewhere in the region of $1,200.

Goodbye, Touch ID!

What this leak does not reveal is the position of Touch ID, if this feature is indeed retained on the iPhone 8. In the last several months, there’ve been lots of details regarding the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 8, with Apple believed to be working on embedding Touch ID into the screen.

The plan has since failed, people close to the matter said, so Apple started considering a series of alternatives, including moving the fingerprint sensor on the back. In the end, it appears that Apple would give up on Touch ID completely, betting instead all-in on the facial recognition systems that would work with the cameras placed in the sensor bar at the top of the screen.

As far as the launch date is expected, the iPhone 8 should see daylight in September alongside the more subtly-improved iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, but sales could only start in October or November, due to supply issues impacting displays.