14 DAY TRIAL // Another day, another leak. Photos published on Chinese forums Weibo reveal what the poster claims to be slides of an internal Apple presentation for local employees, with some iPhone 8 details briefly discussed during the meeting.
While the legitimacy of the photos cannot be confirmed, they do include some details that are worth knowing, especially because we’re getting very close to the moment the iPhone 8 will be unveiled.
First and foremost, the slides confirm some of the features we already heard they’re coming to the iPhone 8, including wireless charging, facial recognition, and AR support.
The iPhone pictured in these slides looks similar to the one we’ve seen in leaks in the past couple of months, and a photo of the back doesn’t seem to reveal a fingerprint sensor, which means that Apple has either embedded it into the display or the company has decided to give up on this feature entirely.
Start of sales in mid-September
At the same time, the alleged leaked slides indicate the start of sales during the week of September 17, though it’s not clear if the presentation referred to the day when pre-orders go live or when the device actually hits the shelves. The first scenario sounds more likely, especially with all the reports pointing to a possible delay.
If the September 17 week launch date is accurate, pre-orders could kick off on September 22, as Apple is typically launching new iPhones on Friday. Again, this is just a guess, as there’s absolutely no confirmation the date is real.
The iPhone 8 will be unveiled at some point in September alongside two other more subtly improved models, namely the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, but as compared to these two devices, it’s expected to hit the market at a later time due to some supply issues.
Today’s leak, however, should really be taken with a healthy amount of skepticism, but if they’re fake, whoever created them wanted the slides to look as legitimate as possible.
