The closer we get to Apple’s traditional iPhone event in September, the more iPhone 8 rumors we see. And most of them paint the same picture: the new iPhone will have a new all-screen design that has forced Apple to drop the fingerprint sensor. There might be no Touch ID on the iPhone 8, but the handset is expected to feature an advanced 3D facial recognition system unlike anything else available from the competition. And there’s a new leak to support the rumor.
Developer Steve Troughton Smith, who’s famous for his findings in Apple code and who recently stumbled across an uncensored HomePod software version that contained plenty of hidden iPhone 8 details, is back with new discoveries.
He posted on Twitter a screenshot that apparently lists various Apple products, including this year’s iPhones, which are part of the iPhone10,X generation.
One would guess from this that iPhone10,3 and 10,6 are the 'iPhone 8', and this would suggest no Mesa (Touch ID). Is Savage the face sensor? pic.twitter.com/7yqX7ifR98
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 22, 2017
According to him, iPhone10,3 and iPhone10,6 may be distinct iPhone 8 versions. and they lack the “Mesa” designator. Mesa, of course, is the internal code name of Touch ID, and its absence seems to indicate the phones do not have a fingerprint sensor. Comparatively, all other four iPhone10,X iPhones do have Mesa in their description.
Furthermore, the 10,3 and 10,6 iPhones have an exclusive designator: “Savage.” That may be the face sensor’s internal name.
Oh, nope, I guess this is pretty explicit. So Savage must be something to do with the Pearl sensor pic.twitter.com/ePES2sjBCL
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 22, 2017
Troughton Smith thought initially that Savage might not necessarily be related to the facial recognition feature, but then found evidence that says Savage is tied to Pearl. Pearl, or Pearl ID, is the code name Apple used in its HomePod firmware to define facial recognition functionality — the same Troughton Smith discovered it.
Of note is the fact that the iPhone SE appears to be the only iPhone to date to have a Touch ID sensor but lack a Mesa designator in code.
The developer doesn’t say where this new code comes from, but Apple did release the latest iOS 11 beta version earlier this week.
