Six things we learned from the biggest leak ever
Over the weekend, the final “gold master” version of iOS 11 was somehow leaked from Apple, and it provided us with a lot of previously-unknown information about the 2017 iPhones just days before their official reveal. To put things in perspective, this is the biggest leak we’ve ever seen in the iPhone’s history. It’s a big deal.
Perhaps the biggest mystery solved is that of this year’s naming conventions. It’s now confirmed that Apple will be releasing an iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus as conventional iterative upgrades to 2016’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. On top of that, we’ll also see a completely new premium handset called iPhone X – perhaps a nod to the iPhone’s tenth anniversary. This is the version we spent most of the summer referring to as iPhone 8. Oops.
We’ll save the smaller details until the official release, but some pretty big facts have been confirmed by the leak. Here’s a hot take of our six favorite reveals about the iPhone X:
– it will feature a 1125×2436 OLED screen with the same True Tone technology as the iPad Pro
– a six-core A11 fusion chip and 3GB RAM will make it the most powerful iOS device available
– the Home button will disappear completely, replaced by a rounded software dock that can be summoned with a swipe
– a new facial recognition feature will be called Face ID and be used to unlock the device and authenticate payments
– the side button – previously known as the lock button – will now be used to invoke Siri and Apple Pay
– iOS 11 will introduce several new wallpapers, including a throwback to Apple’s original rainbow logo from the 1970s
This leak is something of a mini-disaster for Apple and will steal some of the thunder from its live event this week. That said, there are still some things we’re in the dark about, and we still don’t know what kind of spin Tim Cook and co. will give to the announcements. Knowing the existence of a feature is very different from seeing exactly how it works.
It’ll be very interesting to see these featured demoed on stage – we’re particularly looking forward to learning more about the updated cameras, seeing Face ID in action, and getting to grips with the software dock that replaces the Home button. We’ll bring you all the official details as soon as we can following Tuesday’s event.