With Apple’s launch event just over a week away and the iPhone 8 release fast approaching, there isn’t much that has been left to the imagination. We’ve seen hundreds of leaks focusing on the iPhone 8 over the past few months, and we’ve also seen exactly what the phone will look like thanks to all of the dummy models that have been manufactured based on actual iPhone schematics that leaked from Foxconn. In fact, we even got our hands on one of these pseudo iPhone 8’s ourselves, and we can confirm that the new design is fantastic.
In all that time, however, we’ve yet to see a functional iPhone 8 appear in any photos or videos — but with mass production having gotten underway a few weeks ago, we expected that might soon change. Now, with Apple’s iPhone 8 event just eight days away, a leaked video claims to give the world its first ever look at a working iPhone 8.
Now, we have to preface this by clearly stating that there’s no way to confirm whether or not this video is the real deal. The device shown certainly looks the part based on everything we know about the iPhone 8, but there are a few red flags to be found. Namely, the video is incredibly dark so the device itself cannot be seen. Instead, all we can see is the phone’s display.
The display itself certainly looks the part. We can see the huge (hideous) notch cut out of the top of the screen, which is how Apple is accommodating the speaker, front-facing camera, and sensors in its otherwise bezel-less design. We can also see that the aspect ratio looks to be 18:9, which has never been seen before on an iOS device. But is this even an iOS device?
There are several launcher apps out there that are designed to make Android’s interface look like iOS, and it’s possible that we’re looking at one in action. We’re currently not aware of any launchers that chop a notch out of the top of the UI, but it’s certainly not inconceivable that someone whipped this up. The biggest indication that’s the case is the fact that the signal strength indicator and the Wi-Fi icon can be seen in the top-right corner of the display. That’s where they’re placed on Android devices, while iPhones show signal and Wi-Fi in the top-left corner.
Apple is expected to make adjustments to the status bar to accommodate the iPhone 8’s notch, though nothing so far has suggested that cellular and Wi-Fi info will be moved to the right side of the status bar. That said, we can clearly see the time in the top-left corner, and Apple will need a new spot for its clock now that the center of the status bar has been eliminated. So yes, it’s entirely possible that this video is the real deal, and we’re seeing a working iPhone 8 (or iPhone Edition, or whatever Apple decides to call it at launch) for the first time.
The full video (via Reddit) is embedded below. If the video isn’t working for you, you can watch it right here.
