iPhone 8 Release Date, Specs: Invitation Points to Sept. 12 Launch Event; How Apple Will Replace the Home Button
Apple has reportedly handed out invitations for a Sept. 12 event that is most likely dedicated to unveiling new products including the iPhone 8.
Meanwhile, ahead of the device's release, several reports speculated on how the company will replace the physical home button in the upcoming premium smartphone.
One of the first reports about the Sept. 12 unveiling event came from the Wall Street Journal after it obtained information from people briefed by Apple about their plans for the upcoming affair.
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The report added that the new iPhones as well as the next generation of Apple Watch will be released in the market "well ahead of the holiday shopping season."
Notable mobile reporter and leaker Evan Blass also shared a cropped image of Apple's invitation that emphasized the event's tagline: "Let's meet at our place." Twitter user Rami Bana replied to Blass's tweet with the complete image of the invitation.
It showed that what Apple meant by "our place" was the newly-built Steve Jobs Theater right in the technology giant's Cupertino, California, territory.
While the invitation did not provide any detail other than the event's venue and schedule, technology fans are well aware that September is the month when Apple holds a calendarized product unveiling program where new iPhones, the Apple Watch as well as major software updates for iOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS are launched.
Aside from the next Apple Watch and iPhone 8, it has been widely speculated that Apple is also going to introduce product refreshes iPhone 7s and 7s Plus.
Meanwhile, the hype surrounding the iPhone 8's reveal is understandable since it is expected to sport major changes including the lack of a physical home button.
Several leaked renders as well as a discovered piece of code in the HomePod's firmware suggested that the iPhone 8 will sport a bezel-less display that will require the removal of the physical home button.
In the past iPhone models, the physical home button is one of the most important features especially when the Touch ID was introduced. Apple has also incorporated the devices' fingerprint scanner beneath the physical home button.
According to reports, there is a possibility for the iPhone 8 to sport an on-screen "thin software bar" that can be used to go back to the home screen.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus are likely to still have the physical home button.
