iPhone 8 New Concept Plays With Cutouts For Virtual Home Button

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There’s an iPhone 8 new concept for you to chew on. This one comes courtesy of Steve Troughton-Smith who took some time to develop a few concepts of how he believes iOS 11 might look on the iPhone 8’s new bezel-less display. Of course, these designs are simple concepts and there’s no indication Apple is actually moving ahead with anything similar. With that said, now that the home button is gone, Apple has to find a solution to replace its functionality. I’m guessing we will see something similar to Steve Troughton-Smith’s mockups.

In the above below, you can see the iPhone 8 new concept plays with the idea of a bottom “cutout” for a virtual home button. This is meant to match the top cutout used for the earpiece and front-facing sensors. Steve is quick to point out that he doesn’t think this is the likely solution Apple will use but he wanted to show off several different options with his iPhone 8 new concept designs.

iPhone 8 New Concept

 

In the above concept designs we see what is probably much more likely to be the final design choice from Apple. These three designs address how Apple might incorporate a virtual home button without a bottom notch as well as how Apple will utilize the display around the top cutout. Personally, I think the first option is the most likely. It’s what we have seen from several previous mockups and it just looks the best. The second mockup makes the least sense. Why would Apple have their new display wrap around the top cutout like that and then black out the top of the display to make the phone look like it has one long bezel? The third mockup is also a strong possibility. I’m not a huge fan of the stark change between the cutout and the display for the information icons but it does certainly look unique.

iPhone 8 New Concept

 

Finally, Steve Troughton-Smith created some mockups of how the virtual home button might integrate into various areas of iOS 11 and popular apps. We see the home button is able to change color in this concept based on the color scheme of the app. I think all of these look like very clean, modern solutions. Hopefully Apple has something similar in mind. The code in iOS 11 indicates that the home button may be able to be hidden within apps. That would very cool and it would be interesting to see how Apple plans to make that work seamlessly using on-screen touch gestures. Hopefully you don’t have to leave the app to toggle settings. That would defeat the purpose.

Along with the iPhone 8 new concept we see above, we have had a very good look at the iPhone 8 over the last few weeks. There have been plenty of leaks and renders to give us an idea of the design of the iPhone 8. Apple even leaked an image of the display within their HomePod firmware.

Using all of that information, some people have been able to create realistic prototypes that show off the design very clearly. For example, one video on YouTube compares iPhone 7S Plus and iPhone 8 prototypes. I would say that video is the best look at the iPhone 8 we have had (assuming the prototype design is correct). We also get a chance to see the iPhone 7S Plus design which has been kind of lost in the excitement over the iPhone 8.

These mockups of how iOS 11 might look on the iPhone 8 help fill in the blanks a bit since the prototypes we have seen are obviously not working units. If only we could combine the mockups and the prototypes somehow.

What is more likely is that we will have to wait for a leaked video of a working iPhone 8 or sit tight and wait for the official iPhone 8 reveal. Luckily, if the latter situation is what we have to wait for, we won’t have to wait long. The iPhone 8 is expected to launch on time in September alongside the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus. That news should help Apple fans rest easy who have heard rumors of iPhone 8 delays all summer long. With that said, it sounds like the iPhone 8 will not be easy to pick up at launch. Due to slow manufacturing, there may only be 2 to 4 million iPhone 8 units available worldwide once launch rolls around. That means you better be lined up outside the Apple store when they open on launch day if you plan to get your hands on the hottest smartphone of the season. Oh, and you’ll want to bring your piggy bank with you because the iPhone 8 won’t come cheap. Many industry analysts are expecting the iPhone 8 to cost $1,100 or more. That could make it one of the most expensive smartphones releasing this fall with the Galaxy Note 8 coming in a couple hundred dollars lower around $900 – according to some rumors.

All will be clear in due time. Of course, we have to be patient and enjoy the leaks we do get. What do you think of these iPhone 8 new concepts? Do they make you want the device more or less? Or, are you getting one no matter what?

Image source: Steve Troughton-Smith/Twitter

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