Just as the headphone jack was the big "will they or won't they?" prior to the announcement of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the mystery surrounding the upcoming iPhone 8 seems to be what will become of its rumored all-screen design.
The latest pass at the rumor mill suggests that Apple may indeed ditch the bezel, forcing it to move the Touch ID fingerprint scanner to the back of the phone, according to an image from notable leaker Sonny Dickson.
The supposed leak appears to show the back panel of the next iPhone, showing space for a dual-camera setup aligned vertically on the side while a fingerprint scanner is placed in the middle beneath Apple's logo, making for a busier design than we're used to from the iPhone maker.
iPhone 8 looks to be taking a new direction pic.twitter.com/mG19bcDYiCApril 19, 2017
The bottom of the handset seems to indicate that Apple isn't planning to bring the headphone jack out of retirement anytime soon, while the charger port looks like it could either be a Lightning connection or, as previously rumored, a USB-C port, but it's unclear from the illustration.
While unconfirmed, the leaked design matches up almost entirely with another previous leak, down to the vertical camera and on-back fingerprint scanner. Meanewhile, some reports have added to the theory that Apple is relocating its Touch ID sensor to the back to save on bezel space.
As is always, always, always the case, images claiming to be bonafide leaks should be taken with a grain of salt.
However, as more rumors start to coordinate towards an agreed-upon design, we can't help but think Apple may have finally decided on the direction it's taking its next handset.
- The date for WWDC 2017 has been confirmed, and it's coming soon
