A new leak gives us a better look at how the iPhone 8 could fit into Apple's smartphone lineup when it arrives later this year.
Most of the chatter around Apple's iPhone plans foresees the company releasing three new iPhones in the fall. Apple is expected to make modest updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but also to unveil the iPhone 8, which will include substantive changes to iPhone design, such as an edge-to-edge display.
Some leaked images that were spotted by MacRumors this past weekend reportedly show molds of the upcoming iPhone releases, and one of those images — posted at SlashLeaks — gives us a good sense of how the iPhone 8 would measure up to Apple's existing iPhone models.
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The leaked molds have the iPhone 8 in the center, flanked by an updated iPhone 7s Plus on the left and a new iPhone 7s on the right. In this scenario, the 7s Plus would keep the largest form factor, with the iPhone 8 only slightly taller than the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s.
But that's in line with other rumors about the iPhone 8's display, which will reportedly stretch from the top of the phone to the bottom, similar to what Samsung and LG have done with the Galaxy S8 and G6, respectively. By doing away with most of the top and bottom bezels on its phone, Apple will be able to squeeze in more screen space without dramatically enlarging its new phone. The iPhone 8 will reportedly feature a 5.8-inch display even though its form factor will only be slightly larger than the 5.4 x 2.6 x 0.28-inch iPhone 7.
If these molds are accurate, they confirm another rumored iPhone 8 feature — that the dual lenses on the rear camera will be stacked on top of each other. That's reportedly to help support augmented reality features slated for the iPhone 8. The iPhone 7s Plus would retain the horizontal orientation featured in the current Plus-sized iPhone.
More images of the reported iPhone molds also appeared on Benjamin Geskin's Twitter account, with the most intriguing of the additional images showcasing the sides of the phone. The iPhone 8 mold features a noticeably longer button on its side. MacRumors says the longer button could be there to accommodate a fingerprint sensor as Apple looks for a place to put its Touch ID sensor on a redesigned iPhone.
Extending the iPhone's display would mean getting rid of the physical home button on the iPhone 8. Apple will reportedly go with a virtual home button on its new phone, but that means it will also have to do something about the Touch ID sensor that lets you unlock your phone and confirm Apple Pay payments with a fingerprint.
Apple's preference would be to move that sensor underneath the front display, but some reports claim that's proving problematic. Moving the sensor to a button on the side of the iPhone 8 might not be an ideal solution, but it's a better option than putting the fingerprint reader on the back of the device, which some rumors say may be an option.
