Apple rumored to remove even more buttons from the iPhone
If a new bombshell report from Fast Company is to be believed, the iPhone 8 sounds like it's going to have an even more radical design than we thought.
The most insane nugget is that Apple might remove all physical buttons (volume, power and mute switch) and replace them with "touch-sensitive inlays in the metal."
SEE ALSO: iPhone 8 concept combines camera with Apple logo
With no physical buttons to distract from the design, the iPhone 8, would inch closer towards becoming a single monolithic slab of glass — a pure, minimalist design that Apple's chief design officer Jony Ive would no doubt love.
Removing the buttons would also allow Apple to make the iPhones more waterproof without needing to use rubber gaskets around the inside of the buttons to block out liquid the way it does on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Apple is also reportedly looking into "3D-sensing technology" that could be used for facial recognition, improved depth-sensing on the back camera (possibly for improved Portrait mode?), or for augmented reality uses (something Tim Cook has teased many, many times).
A larger battery than the iPhone 7 is another feature Apple is reportedly looking to include on the iPhone 8.
The report also corroborates many previous rumors including an OLED screen somewhere in the range of 5.5 to 5.8-inches, a new chassis design comprised of a stainless steel frame and glass back, and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor moving to underneath the display. But that's all news we've heard before.
Though the iPhone 8 will be the iPhone everyone will want, Apple will also release an updated iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with the "7S" naming convention, the report claims.
The iPhone 8 and all of its new features won't be cheap, though — it could cost more than $1,000.
