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One of the iPhone 12’s biggest design changes just leaked

Published Apr 20th, 2020 7:31AM EDT

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  • A leaker who revealed several Apple secrets so far, including the actual iPhone SE release date, shared on Twitter images showing the iPhone 12 design.
  • The design illustrations reveal one of the most significant changes coming to the iPhone 12 series.
  • The new iPhone will supposedly feature a smaller Face ID notch at the top, as the speaker will be moved up to the top bezel.
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The iPhone 12 series will sport a brand new design, several leakers said over the course of several months. The phone will resemble the iPad Pro and iPhone 5 more than the iPhone 6 and iPhone X designs that we saw in recent years, these leaks said. The iPhone 12 will have a chassis with flat sides, and the phone is getting an entirely flat display as well. Only a few days ago, we saw the purportedly leaked iPhone 12 design that revealed, among other things, that the new handset will have even smaller bezels than before. The one thing that’s not going away this year is the Face ID notch that sits at the top of every iPhone launched since iPhone X with the exception of the iPhone SE. However, that notch is getting a lot smaller, and a well-known leaker just posted schematics for the massive notch design change.

Jon Prosser is the source in question, a YouTuber who was the first to reveal the sky-high Galaxy S20 prices before the phone was launched in mid-February. Since then, Prosser shared a variety of Apple-related scoops on Twitter and YouTube, culminating with his most significant leak to date, the iPhone SE. Much to the dismay of others, Prosser found out weeks ago details about the iPhone SE launch date from sources within Apple and shared that information with the world.

Image source: Twitter

It’s no surprise to see Prosser continue to leak Apple-related information. After all, he teased in during a recent podcast that he has additional details about unreleased Apple products at hand. On Monday, he posted an image of a purported iPhone 12 design document, as well as a render (above) that explains it better — we’re looking at the iPhone 12’s notch:

The notch will still house a large number of components that make possible 3D face recognition, which are placed next to the regular FaceTime camera. Here’s the current notch design that Apple shared in September 2017 when the iPhone X was unveiled:

Image source: Apple Inc.

One significant change concerns the front speaker. The speaker sits right in the middle of the notch, but it’ll move to the top bezel of the phone if Prosser’s leak is accurate. The microphone will sit next to the speaker.

In a separate tweet, Prosser said the iPhone 12 will not get a smart connector, which was featured in the most recent iPhone 12 design leak. He said the smart connector might be present on a future iPhone version, and it might be used to charge a portless device. Moreover, the iPhone 12 is not getting pencil support according to him:

Prosser isn’t the only leaker claiming the iPhone 12’s speaker will sit inside the thin bezel at the top of the phone. A person who goes by the name of @L0vetodream on Twitter refers to the speaker as a “hidden receiver.”

The same leaker posted an image with an example of such speakers on Android devices that feature hole-punch display designs:

Both the Chinese leaker and Prosser said in the past that the iPhone 12 will come in four distinct sizes, seemingly confirming a leak from Ming-Chi Kuo. Both of them also said the iPhone 12 might be delayed.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 12 series in mid-September, but some versions might be delayed anywhere from a few weeks to a few months because of the current coronavirus health crisis.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2007. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he closely follows the events in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming new movies and TV shows, or training to run his next marathon.