Serial mobile phone leaker Evan Blass posted an image on Twitter this morning offering his followers a glimpse of what Apple's finalized "iPhone 8" design will look like when wrapped in a protective case.
The image shows a render of the 5.8-inch iPhone with the now-familiar edge-to-edge display sans physical Home button and a notch along the top of the device housing the camera, infrared sensor, and speaker components. The handset is enclosed in what looks like a rugged Urban Armor Gear case sporting cutouts for volume controls and a mute switch in the regular places.
iPhone 8 (encased) pic.twitter.com/9LpARCAML2 — Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 8, 2017
This isn't the first time we've seen a third-party case for the upcoming OLED iPhone, with several accessory makers producing case molds based on allegedly official leaked CAD designs and details from "factory sources". In fact, what's arguably more noteworthy about this particular image is that it came from the well-regarded Blass, a typically reliable leaker of official mobile assets.
Since the picture was shared, however, fellow leaker Benjamin Geskin has taken to Twitter to claim that the UAG case image uses assets lifted from renders he released back in June based on his own sources. Geskin also provided comparison shots to bolster his argument, and they do bear a striking resemblance.
Wherever the image came from, what we can be fairly sure of is that the handset shown closely resembles Apple's finalized design, which was apparently unintentionally confirmed by the company itself when it shared early HomePod firmware to public servers last week.
Developers quickly unearthed assets in the smart speaker firmware that are clearly associated with the as-yet-unreleased OLED iPhone, including a reference drawing that mirrors the rumored edge-to-edge display and top camera notch as shown above.
Apple is expected to launch the so-called "iPhone 8" next month as a "premium" alternative to its regular iterative iPhone updates – in this case an expected "iPhone 7S" and "7S Plus", which are thought to retain standard LCD displays. Rumors suggest the OLED iPhone will be available to order as early as October but may be in short supply as the holiday season draws close.
As well as the OLED screen, the higher tier model is expected to include additional features such as wireless charging, a facial authentication system (possibly called Pearl ID) to replace Touch ID, a front-facing dual-lens camera with 3D sensing capabilities, and longer battery life.
