This iPhone 8 leak comes straight from Apple’s own code

If there was any doubt that Apple was working on a bezel-free iPhone 8, it’s firmly in the past thanks to a new leak unearthed over the weekend.

Apple has long been rumoured to be developing an iPhone with a very slim bezel, but while we’ve seen plenty of smoke, the fire has been harder to track down. It’s been expected that Apple would launch this iPhone in September, mimicking the new slim-bezel aesthetic we’ve already seen from the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6. This would involve removing the Touch ID fingerprint scanner and – as has been rumoured – introducing infra-red face unlocking instead.

The best evidence we’ve seen for this so far comes from a developer called Steve Troughton-Smith, who detailed why he believes the next iPhone won’t have a bezel in a very convincing series of tweets.

Over the weekend, Apple accidentally pushed the firmware for the upcoming HomePod smart speaker out. Naturally, plenty of developers nabbed the firmware and starting scouring it for hidden details about what to expect from Apple in the future.

First off, the HomePod’s firmware shows that the iPhone will have infra-red face unlock in BiometricKit – a developer tool for biometric sensor tech:

I can confirm reports that HomePod’s firmware reveals the existence of upcoming iPhone’s infra-red face unlock in BiometricKit and elsewhere pic.twitter.com/yLsgCx7OTZ

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 31, 2017

But things got more exciting when it emerged that an image of what appears to be the new iPhone form factor hidden away in the code:

But wait, there’s more: images of the new iPhone form-factor are also present. ? A lot of people at Apple are going to have a nasty Monday… https://t.co/BdmasKVVgI

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) July 31, 2017

Another developed name Guilherme Rambo then posted a higher-resolution version of this image, which you’ll see below:

Here's a higher resolution version: pic.twitter.com/p60xeEn7Ie

— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) July 31, 2017

Given that this image is embedded in bona fide Apple firmware code, it’s hard to dispute the authenticity. However, it’s important to remember that we can’t read too much into a rough outline; it’s entirely possible that the figure isn’t actually outlining any upcoming Apple products.

That said, the image is very familiar to previous iPhone 8 leaks we’ve seen, and the fact that it shows a design with a jettisoned Home button suggests what we’ve been hearing about the next Apple smartphone may be true.

The Samsung Galaxy S8, which introduced a similar design, has been widely critically acclaimed, not least for its innovative ‘Infinity Display’ aesthetic that meant the phone has an incredible screen-to-body ratio of around 85%. Apple is now under pressure to up its own design game with the iPhone to prevent customers from making the switch to Samsung, or indeed any other rival phone makers. This year also marks the 10th anniversary since the original iPhone launched in 2007, so we’re expecting something very special from Apple to celebrate this milestone.

Apple has not released official comment on this leak.

Related: iPhone 7S

What would you like to see from the iPhone 8? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.