iPhone 8 to come with no home button, rumors suggest

The circular home button has been a staple of the Apple handset design ever since the original iPhone. However, according to rumors, originating from China, this will no longer be the case.

DigiTimes reports that the Chinese-language news media, Economic Daily News (EDN), claims that the iPhone 8 will actually ditch the home button altogether. EDN cited sources from one of Apple's key suppliers – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The Taiwanese company manufactures some of Apple's chips, and it's rumored that it already began production of the new A11 chip for the Cupertino tech giant.

In case you're thinking that Apple will adopt the Samsung approach and relocate its fingerprint scanner to the back of its phones, don't worry. According to EDN, the iPhone 8 will employ a technology that was actually expected to debut with the Galaxy S8, namely – an optical fingerprint scanner, embedded under the display. The same portion of the display is expected to double as an on-screen virtual home button as well, so the original functionality of the circular clicker will still be present on the next iPhone. These changes would be necessary if Apple pursues the all-screen design it's been rumored to develop for its next-gen smartphone.

If this report is to be believed, the new iPhone will also come with infrared image sensors to enhance camera functionality and enable better AR support. According to EDN, a change will also be coming to the display, as its aspect ratio will move away from the classic 9:16 in favor of 9:18.5, similar to the latest Samsung flagships.

Do take a grain of salt with these rumors, however, as both DigiTimes and EDN have a rather hit-and-miss record, when it comes to such reports.

via DigiTimes