iPhone 8 release date, features rumors: Device to ditch physical Home button?

The new iPhone 7 smartphone is displayed inside an Apple Inc. store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 16, 2016.REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Apple has just launched the iPhone 7 and its bigger counterpart, the iPhone 7 Plus. However, speculations have already begun surfacing about the iPhone 8, which is expected to launch in September 2017. One of the most popular rumors suggests that it will use an all-glass body and ditch the physical Home button.

According to a report from Tech Radar, analyst Ming-Ching Kuo has stated that the phone may get rid of its metal casing in favor of an all-glass body. It is unclear what kind of glass technology will be used, but this may help make the phone lighter, more durable, and less prone to overheating.

It is also stated that the phone is expected to feature wireless charging. This feature has never been implemented for any of Apple's products at the time being, but given how it is becoming the norm for many other brands of smartphones, the iPhone 8 is likely going to adapt and feature its own wireless charging dock.

The iPhone 8 is also rumored to get rid of the physical Home button and even the fingerprint scanner in favor of a virtual Home button. As of the time of writing, all iPhone models have used physical Home buttons, but the iPhone 8 may get rid of it given how common it is for the Home button to get stuck and break.

According to the report, Apple may no longer release an S version of the iPhone 7 and instead focus on the iPhone CE 2 in Spring 2017.

By the time September next year rolls in, the company will focus entirely on the iPhone 8, which will help the company recover from the negative feedback on the iPhone 7. The latter had been criticized for not introducing a lot of new features and for removing the traditional 3.5mm earphone jack in favor of a USB Type-C port.