Apple’s HomePod firmware has provided a lot of interesting details regarding the upcoming iPhone 8. The firmware contains a lot of information of other Apple devices in its code, including the company’s flagship phone. Twitter posts of the developer Steve Troughton-Smith has been the primary source of the said information.
The firmware for the upcoming HomePod smart speaker was released using the company’s developer system last week. But it is intended to be officially released in December. It is still unclear whether Apple leaked the HomePod firmware by accident or it was intentionally distributed for developers to do some customizations on the speaker ahead of its official release.
Troughton-Smith has spent a lot of time digging through the HomePod’s IPSW file.
Next-gen smartphone has facial recognition sensors
Based on the codes Troughton-Smith found, he claims that the iPhone 8 might have an infrared-based facial recognition sensors and an almost all-screen design on its front. With the help of facial recognition sensors, iPhone 8 users do not need to use passcodes or fingerprints to unlock their smartphones. The all-screen design means that Apple might have removed the physical home button of the iPhone 8.
Instead of using a physical home button, the iPhone 8 will have a virtual home button that is called the “Home Indicator.” Users can also hide the home indicator depending on the situation.
Steve Troughton-Smith also claims that the frequently cited rumor under-glass Touch ID fingerprint sensor is not yet confirmed and still up for a debate.
Tap-to-wake feature included?
Troughton-Smith also notes that the iPhone 8 might support tap-to-wake feature just like other smartphones on the market. This feature would allow users to wake their smartphone by simply tapping on the display screen.
As for now, Troughton-Smith is drawing all of these conclusions from the HomePod firmware. The firmware is essentially the same as the iPhone firmware, but it has a few alterations.
The HomePod firmware has revealed several details about the smart speaker’s hardware features and interaction methods, while also revealing some of the iPhone 8’s potential features.
But none of these has been confirmed by Apple and all of this information should be taken with a grain of salt.
The iPhone 8 marks the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, no wonder fans are expecting too much from it. The upcoming smartphone is expected to have an OLED screen with bezel-less design and a wireless charging feature. Apple is also expected to launch three new smartphones this year, namely the iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and iPhone 8.
