Fans are raving about the upcoming 2017 iPhone, and leaks reveal a great detail that seems to confirm circulating rumors about the device: It will have an edge-to-edge display without a home button.
Not much is known about the upcoming 2017 iPhone, but Apple is planning to introduce such design and functionality that it might very well be named the iPhone 8, BGR reported. Now, one such design-and-function detail leaked on the internet says that it will have a wider screen that has more usable space.
According to famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the upcoming iPhone 8 will be small at 4.7 inches, but it will have a wider 5.8-inch OLED display panel, MacRumors reported. Simply put, it's iPhone 7 Plus-sized screen at a much smaller body.
Kuo notes that the iPhone 8 won't have a physical home button. Instead, there will be a dedicated "Function area" at the bottom of the OLED display, which means it will only have 5.15 inches of usable space. The function area might be similar in function to the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro that Apple released recently.
Should this detail be proven true, fans will wonder what will happen to Touch ID on the iPhone 8. Kuo says that instead of embedding a Touch ID sensor somewhere on the display, Apple might use a different kind of security verification system centering around face recognition.
This seems to corroborate a report from Fast Company, saying that Apple is working with Lumentum on 3D-sensing technology that might very well be used for facial recognition. If this is true, users will simply have to look at the iPhone 8 for it to be unlocked.
It is also believed that the new iPhone 8 will have longer battery life. In another note, Kuo said the new 4.7-inch iPhone 8 will have the same battery life as that of a 5.5-inch iPhone, thanks to its stacked logic board.
The iPhone 8, which will be the company's next flagship phone, is believed to fetch a commanding $1,000 selling price, and might be made available to the public in fall.
