Trying to pin down the precise features of the next iPhone has been difficult of late. We’re all expecting a standard “S” model iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that won’t be radically different from last year’s, but we’re also expecting a high-end model. It appears, based on a tweet from developer Steve Troughton-Smith, that at least one of those models will have face unlock. And the high-end model (alternately referred to as the “iPhone Pro,” “iPhone 8,” or even “iPhone X”) will have a bezel-less screen that wraps around the speaker and cameras at the top.
Troughton-Smith and other developers have been spending the past day examining the code inside the Apple HomePod, which pretty much contains most of the codebase for iPhones inside it. Apple accidentally pushed the firmware for the HomePod out yesterday, and a bunch of developers grabbed it. From that code, we’ve learned a bit about how the LED lights on the top may work, but it also is giving us an opportunity to learn about what might be coming to the next iPhones. To wit:
There are a bunch of lines of code for “BKFaceDetect” here, where the “BK” probably refers to “Biometric Kit.” Apple loves using the word “Kit” for its developer tools, you see. There’s also references to an infrared camera, which would be used to detect your face, even in the dark. Bloomberg reported that Apple would use an infrared camera for 3D face scanning earlier this month, but we don’t know whether it will come to all of upcoming iPhones.
Additionally, the code also apparently contains this image:
We’ve seen similar images before, but they were photos of a paper insert that shows how to remove the SIM card tray, and thus easily faked. But this image appears right in the HomePod’s code, which makes it much more likely to be real.
What we’re looking at here is a screen that very likely goes almost edge to edge. Interestingly, it also appears to extend around the speaker and sensors that sit at the top of the iPhone.
Both the face unlock and the screen that wraps around the sensor are features we’ve already seen appear on Android phones — Samsung’s Galaxy and the (as-yet-unreleased) Essential Phone, respectively. So Apple isn’t the first to implement these features.
Much of the speculation and rumormongering for the next iPhone has centered around TouchID: would it appear under the screen, appear on the back of the phone, land on the power button on the side, or go away entirely. We don’t yet fully know the answer to that question, but it does look like we now know the basic look of it and that it will support unlocking by scanning your face.
Comments
How is that image "bezel-less"? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills
By Dmitri_ on 07.30.17 11:04pm
That’s obviously a pretty large otterbox!
By llort on 07.30.17 11:14pm
People keep calling the Galaxy S8 "bezel-less"… but do you see those black things?
Those are bezels…
By Michael Scrip on 07.31.17 12:18am
I might be in the minority but I’m not sure I’d want a completely ‘bezel-less’ display. It’d be hard to watch media in landscape mode with my hand touching and blocking the screen
By VIIIXXIX on 07.31.17 2:37am
Apple has literally the best anti-touch (forgot what it’s called. When you put you hand on the side by accident and it doesn’t respond) algorithm so I don’t think it should be an issue. Another thing is also videos are mainly 16:9 or 21:9 so there will be black bars.
By SkeleCrafter on 07.31.17 4:43am
Palm rejection. And that’s not exactly the problem @LIAM IXIV point out. Also, of course 21:9 movie would be covered since > 18:9 > 16:9. But it would still looks sexy as heck.
By Aldey Wahyu Putra on 07.31.17 5:32am
You can have all the palm rejection there is but you’re still gonna block some degree of content regardless
By fikfladoodles on 07.31.17 10:49am
No, those are called fingernails…
By ClinClin on 07.31.17 4:22am
No, the nails are purple…
By 4ndrew on 07.31.17 12:10pm
No. If you repeat something enough times it clearly becomes true.
By onepunchrick on 07.31.17 1:11pm
Thank you! Tim Cook starting off the keynote: "…the word "bezel-less" get’s thrown around a lot these days…"
By Thuhsnoman on 07.31.17 11:13am
RIP TouchID.
By Skeith on 07.30.17 11:13pm
Even the best implementation of "face-scanning" would not work at sharp angles when your phone is just lying on the table. With TouchID I could just touch it to see whatever the active screen has to show no matter what the angle is.
But if TouchID would be gone then it means I will have to grab my phone by hand just to see the information since those infra-red and regular front cameras will not be able to recognize my face at those angles.
If so, then it is bad for me.
By UsernameAndPassword on 07.31.17 2:42am
Just pass iPhone 8 and wait till 8S or 9, if you could.
By Aldey Wahyu Putra on 07.31.17 5:33am
Basically, this just won’t have Touch ID if the tech is not ready in time – which according to many sources, it’s not. They’ll just push their face unlock technology really hard & try and send a strong message that it’s better/as-good as Touch ID. Then next year they’ll talk about their "revolutionary" technology that brings back Touch ID without the need of a home button.
Alternatively Touch ID will live on the back of the device to allow Apple Pay to function. It’ll be aesthetically unpleasing but it’s a very likely scenario.
By Black Dude on 07.31.17 9:06am
This all sounds gross haha
By TheSdotBailey on 07.31.17 10:43am
I never said it’d be pretty lol but if the tech is not ready 1 of these 2 directions is where they will go, without a shadow of a doubt.
By Black Dude on 07.31.17 7:54pm
They’re already going to have an Apple logo on there, why not use that as the Touch ID sensor?
By Winklemeier on 07.31.17 12:16pm
I believe it’s already being used for NFC or WiFi/Bluetooth.. not 100% sure but that would definitely be the more appealing alternative.
By Black Dude on 07.31.17 7:53pm
Power button too much of a struggle?
By NewWorldOrder on 07.31.17 7:08am
TouchID button works this good because when you touch it the pressure goes against the table on which iPhone is laying. Buttons that are on the sides or on the top need your full hand or even two to press them.
By UsernameAndPassword on 07.31.17 9:14am
*RIP TouchID on the front of the phone maybe…
By baRRy boRRis on 07.31.17 6:05am
I love Touch ID in most circumstances. Not so much when it’s raining or after a workout/run, when it doesn’t seem to work too well with sweaty or wet fingers. I’d be ok ditching it for face recognition if it works flawlessly.
By tony.gamino.7 on 07.31.17 9:59am
Yeah, I’m shocked they’d go through with that considering it was just brought to their newest notebooks and is really only a few years old. I don’t like this gimmicky eyeball and facial scanning unlock stuff. It just comes off as, "Oh look how science-fiction-y we can make our devices." I say that as someone who’s owned all iPhone models aside from the 6S and I said the same thing when Samsung released their version. It’s just tacky, gimmicky nonsense that – correct me if I’m wrong – can be fooled by a damn photo of you so it’s not as secure as TouchID either!
By TheSdotBailey on 07.31.17 10:41am
I have a feeling what they’ll wind up doing (in addition to face recognition) is embedding the TouchID sensor behind the display on the Apple Watch, and using the watch as a verification device for their phones and laptops.
By mobile_phoney on 07.31.17 12:46pm