After many images and renders of the upcoming iPhone 8, tipster Benjamin Geskin recently posted a video on YouTube, showing a demo unit of the device. It’s a 10 second clip, with the device being rotated to show the front and back. You can see the smartphones sporting a glass back and virtual dual camera setup, along with a metal frame. That’s in line with recent leaks showing moulds of the three new iPhones expected this year.
We might eat our words later, but the video seems to suggest a wider profile on the iPhone 8. That, we think is against the very idea that iPhones have been about so far. To be fair, it’s been a long time coming. Apple first made iPhones unwieldy when it came up with the iPhone 6 Plus, but the iPhone 8 isn’t supposed to be as big either. Moreover, with a glass back, we expect the device will be slippery too, which has been the case with other glass-backed devices too. So, yes, we do hope this isn’t what the iPhone 8 will come out to be.
On the other hand, the device seems to sport no home button on the front, while there are no holes/buttons on the back either. Even the Apple logo doesn’t appear on the back, so one wonders how early a prototype this was. There have been reports about Apple extending the launch date for the iPhone 8, thanks to issues with yield of certain components. Considering all that, it is indeed possible that this unit never made it to the final cut.
Frankly speaking, the device seen in the video doesn’t seem like an Apple design at all. The company hasn’t been the most innovative in this department lately, but with the rest of the industry moving towards taller and narrower smartphones, it’s unlikely that Apple would come up with something like this.