Apple’s iPhone 8 release date grows closer with each passing day. We don’t know exactly when it will be, of course, but a late September or early to mid October launch is looking increasingly likely. Apple typically releases new iPhone models in September, and it’s likely that the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will go on sale at some point that month. According to reports, however, difficulties getting the iPhone 8’s new in-screen Touch ID fingerprint scanner ready for mass production will delay the release of the iPhone 8.
As always, nothing is official until Apple makes it official during its September press conference. But just as we’ve seen in recent years, it appears as though Apple’s iPhone 8 design has leaked well ahead of the phone’s unveiling. Now, new photos and a video show posted on Twitter recently may show the familiar design of Apple’s unreleased flagship iPhone yet again.
According to recent leaks and rumors, Apple’s iPhone 8 design has been finalized. The phone will feature 2.5D glass on the front and back, with Apple having opted for glass instead of metal on the back in order to offer wireless charging support. Sandwiched between the two sheets of glass is reportedly a stainless steel midframe that is rounded and polished at the edges.
The front of Apple’s iPhone 8 is something of a sore spot right now for many people. If recent rumors pan out, Apple’s iPhone 8 has very narrow bezels around the screen, but there’s a huge chunk near the top of the display that is cut out to make room for the ear speaker, camera, and other sensors. It looks pretty awful, just like the Essential phone, though there is one way Apple could salvage the design and actually make it beautiful.
We’ve all seen the renders, and now there’s a design for a 3D printed model floating around out there to let anyone print their own iPhone 8 dummy model. Twitter user Benjamin Geskin recently posted photos of the model, noting that people should DM him if they want one of their own. It’s unclear if he’s selling mockups or simply offering to send people the files needed to 3D print their own (UPDATE: A reader emailed to let us know that he is offering to sell the 3D files that will allow people to print their own iPhone 8 dummy).
It’s still not confirmed that this is the final iPhone 8 design, of course. It’s also unclear why this 3D printed mockup has a sunken area where the display would be — no leaks at this point have suggested that there will be a raised border around the perimeter of the iPhone 8’s front side.
Here’s a video of the iPhone 8 mockup in someone’s hand:
