New iPhone 8 Leak Confirms Glass Aesthetic, Absence Of Rear-Mounted Touch ID Sensor?

A leaked photo of the highly anticipated iPhone 8 suggests that the flagship smartphone won’t have the Touch ID fingerprint reader on the back. The leak also indicates that the device will indeed launch with the rumored glass aesthetic that the Cupertino giant used on its iPhone 4.

On Tuesday, Apple Insider spotted a leaked photograph of a production glass panel that is believed to be bound for the iPhone 8. If this panel is indeed one that is going to be part of the iPhone 8, then consumers can expect an iPhone 7 successor that has a vertically aligned dual camera module. Apparently, it is very evident in the photo that the glass panel has an ellipsoid cutout for back camera.

Apart from the camera cutout, nothing more is present on the back glass panel save for the Apple logo and the iPhone label at the bottom. The glass material of the back panel corroborates early rumors of Apple returning to the “glass sandwich” aesthetic it introduced with the iPhone 4 seven years ago.

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Apple Insider also noted that this new leak seems to be quite identical to the rear cover it stumbled upon last month. That cover had regulatory markings, such as the CE tag for communications devices and the battery disposal safety notice. Unfortunately, there are still no means of verifying both leaks since Apple, as expected, is tight-lipped and reserving its confirmation until the big reveal of the flagship phone.

It’s possible though that the leaked glass panel and rear cover were from the mockups created from the schematics of the iPhone 8. For now though, everyone is advised to take all of these leaks with a grain of salt. However, it’s good to know that the leaks so far suggest the same things about the upcoming handset. Only time will tell if they indeed have some truth in them.

The new leak comes a day after KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts Andy Hargreaves, John Vinh and Josh Beck claimed that Apple is actually struggling to get the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to work on the OLED display of the iPhone 8. This is not good sign for Tim Cook’s company at all since this could push the launch of the highly anticipated handset to a later date. It could even cause Apple to just ditch the display-embedded sensor, which would then disappoint many fans, as first reported by Barron’s.

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Apple is already poised to announce the iPhone 8, alongside two other iPhone models, this fall. If all of the rumors and leaks turn out to be right, the iPhone 8 could debut with an almost all-screen front, a 3D sensing camera and wireless charging technology. There are also speculations claiming that the new iPhone devices will make use of augmented reality as part of their camera’s suite of features.