Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 will feature a "function area" at the bottom of its edge-to-edge OLED display, replacing home button of the current iPhone with Touch ID, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo, who has predicted quite a bit characteristics of Apple products in the past has detailed the “function area” as listed on the bottom of the phone in a slide. The 5,8-inch iPhone is said to have a 5.15-inch bezel-less OLED display.
Η πιο εμφανής αλλαγή του iPhone OLED θα είναι ένα σχέδιο πλήρους οθόνης, μαζί με την κατάργηση του κουμπιού Home που διαθέτει και την τρέχουσα τεχνολογία αναγνώρισης δακτυλικών αποτυπωμάτων. Περιμένουμε το iPhone OLED θα έρθει με ένα 5.8 “φυσικό πάνελ OLED”, αλλά η real έκταση της οθόνης θα είναι περίπου στις 5.15″. Το υπόλοιπο θα είναι ένας space for functions (e.g. allocation of virtual keys).
The "function area" sounds a lot like the Touch Bar on Apple's new MacBook Pro. The Touch Bar displays your applications and presents various function keys for greater productivity. Kuo also said that this area will be for the distribution of virtual keys, but did not give further details.
To mention that analyst Rod Hall JPMorgan (who isn't nearly as reliable as Kuo) reported that Apple will remove the TouchID Home button and replace it with a 3D laser scanner for facial recognition.
The rumors of course will continue to come until the official launch of the iPhone 8, which is said to be wireless charging, and a body of glass only. Rumors also indicate a dramatic increase in battery capacity.