iPhone 8 Virtual Home Button Can Likely Resize and Hide Completely As Needed

Yesterday, HomePod firmware revealed that the iPhone 8's facial recognition software will seemingly support Apple Pay, multiple facial profiles, and third-party apps. Now, as the uncovering of Apple secrets within HomePod firmware continues apace, developer Steven Troughton-Smith has revealed details on Twitter about the iPhone 8's virtual home button, stating that it "resizes" as needed to fit certain tasks on the smartphone.

Specifically, Troughton-Smith described a "periphery" area of the system user interface that expands/minimizes and shows/hides the iPhone 8's virtual home button as it's needed. There will be tab bars that extend under this periphery area, and no evidence was discovered of an ability for this part of the UI to change color. According to Troughton-Smith, this means that the indicator Apple is building for the virtual home button area "will have to contrast well" with any background and colors displayed on the rest of the display.

kuoiphone8size

Proposed iPhone 8 "function area" by Ming-Chi Kuo

There was also no evidence found that suggests any piece of app UI will be part of the home button area in any form, meaning Apple plans to keep the bottom home button piece of UI clean and uniform whenever it's brought up. Troughton-Smith did mention that whenever a user plays a fullscreen video, the content will hide the home button controls.

The idea of a virtual "function area" on the iPhone 8 was detailed earlier this year in a report written by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who stated the the 5.8-inch screen on the device would have a 5.15-inch usable display. The remaining area of the screen would be reserved for an area of virtual buttons, including a home button, but Kuo's report never hinted that the function area might resize or be "hidden" completely whenever the UI allows it, as Troughton-Smith has discovered.

In addition, Troughton-Smith tweeted out the metrics for the upper status bar on the iPhone 8. The code further confirmed previous HomePod firmware findings that related to a "split" status bar on the device, with what's expected to be camera and sensor hardware sitting between two virtual pieces of UI. Designer Olivier Charavel has already used the metrics to create a mockup of what this status bar should look like on the real iPhone 8, including connection strength and a battery indicator.

iphone 8 sensors area


Previously, Troughton-Smith said the new status bar seemed "more complex and powerful" in its design, and even said that it could be "interactive" in some way.

In regards to the iPhone 8's bottom area and virtual home button findings, Troughton-Smith tweeted that, "all of these things are supported by API evidence, so this is the clearest picture of its functionality we have to work from." HomePod firmware is building up a good indicator of what we can expect from the iPhone 8 when Apple announces the device next month, including advanced facial recognition features likely replacing Touch ID completely, 4K video recording, "SmartCamera" functionality, and more.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

Centris 650 Avatar
103 months ago
MacRumors needs to put the HomePod on it's payroll.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nabeel24 Avatar
103 months ago
The gift that keeps giving....
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
103 months ago
With a virtual home button, I wonder what the sequence of buttons will be for a "hard reboot" and screen shot...
[LIST=1]
* Post the issue on a forum to first learn that whatever the cause of the need to reboot, it is YOUR and only your (user error) fault.
* Offer counterpoint that implies a bug and risk being called a troll or paid Android shill.
* Watch others chime in with the same issue, only to be summarily lumped into the .0001% of users that have such issues.
* Read 5+ posts that basically say "My phone is working perfectly" (so yours can't be having any such issue). Feel free to privately roll your eyes to that one. Really. They won't know. Then,
* Visit an Apple Store
* Insert phone in Recycle bin
* Buy new phone.
* Cheer on "record profits"
* Sling around "...but who makes the most profitable phone" in website forums.


;)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aaronhead14 Avatar
103 months ago
I just wanna know where the dang clock is going to be.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
meaning-matters Avatar
103 months ago
Rumor: On-screen button can hide.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Berti10 Avatar
103 months ago
Let me guess, it can be swiped up together with the dock and control center like on the iPad with iOS 11
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)