Early Thursday morning, a photograph that supposedly shows Apple’s iPhone 8 schematics was posted on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo. The photo was supposedly taken of a computer screen inside one of Foxconn’s factories, and it seemingly shows 3D renders of the iPhone 8 along with dimensions for the length, width, and height. There is precious little doubt in my mind that the schematics are fake. Stranger things have happened, however, so a graphic designer has created a render that takes the supposed Foxconn schematics and brings them to life.
The iPhone 8 that may or may not have been detailed in these newly leaked schematics aligns perfectly with some poorly sourced rumors that popped up recently, so the odds are fairly good that someone simply whipped up this photo for fun. We have seen similar leaks from Foxconn factories in the past though, so it’s at least worth exploring the idea that this is the real deal.
That said, I sincerely hope it’s not the real deal for two main reasons.
First, it’s ugly. Second, moving the Touch ID scanner to the back of the phone would be a huge step backwards in terms of user experience. The bottom part of a phone’s face is the natural location for a fingerprint scanner, because it’s where the thumb ends up when you pull a phone out of your pocket. Also, the front of the phone is always facing the user, so he or she doesn’t have to fumble around while trying to feel for it. Sadly, recent rumors suggest that Apple is indeed toying with the idea of a rear-mounted scanner due to manufacturing difficulties with embedded the scanner in the display.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed since this is all unsubstantiated, or we can at least hope that Apple and its partners work through any manufacturing problems they might be facing. Just in case this is the real deal, however, graphic designer Benjamin Geskin whipped up a render of an iPhone 8 that just about matches the specs laid out in these supposed schematics.
Apart from the fingerprint scanner on the back and the hideous vertical rear camera setup, this iPhone 8 render actually looks pretty terrific. If Apple does go with a new (almost) bezel-free design, however, odds are good that the corners of the screen will be rounded like they are on the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8.
Apple’s new iPhone 8 (or iPhone Edition, or iPhone Pro, or whatever Apple ends up calling it) is set to be unveiled this coming September alongside a new iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus.
