Another day, another set of leaked images from Apple’s production factory! This time, it’s (supposedly) an iPhone 8 mold that has surfaced. Placed beside similar molds for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the images show how the 5.0-inch “iPhone 8” might look like.
The news has been picked up by all the leading Apple blogs, who have been sharing these photos, with taglines such as:
A trio of molds from China claim to show the shape and design of Apple’s 2017 iPhone lineup, suggesting that the so-called “iPhone 8” may be slightly taller than the 4.7-inch “iPhone 7s,” but could be considerably smaller than the “iPhone 7s Plus”.
As is clear from all the quotes, it’s still speculation. And although most major news portals are circulating these pictures, they are still doing with a disclaimer. Essentially, we cannot be certain of their authenticity. And since Apple will never comment on these, we’ll not know if these are original or not until an actual “iPhone 8” comes out. Or if Apple tweets out a picture of an official iPhone 8 mold!
Also, don’t be misled by those holes in the middle of the casings.
These are just places where the conveyors/machines grip the molds. The holes are not a design element for the new iPhones. 9to5Mac clarifies:
“All three molds include two holes near the middle of the extrusions. This is unlikely to relate to any specific iPhone hardware change and is simply a manufacturing artefact of how these molds are made.”
Here’s a look at how their thickness compares:
As can be seen, the sleep/wake button on the middle phone seems to be a bit longer than the other two. Currently, we have no idea why that is. However, you can be sure that the internet will come up with a hundred different theories! And we’ll be keeping an eye out for them and pass on to you the most interesting ones. So stay tuned to this page!
PS:
The cover image for this article is artist Benjamin Geskin’s rendition of how the finished product will look like. It’s the latest mockup, based on this picture of the supposed iPhone 8 mold.
THIS IS IT.
2017 OLED iPhone. #iPhone8 #iPhoneX #iPhoneEditionThanks to @ le.pich pic.twitter.com/3NvWU5flDj
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) April 24, 2017