iPhone 8: more evidence points to the fingerprint scanner moving to the back

Apple's HomePod firmware gave us a look at an all-screen design and infrared Face ID tech for the iPhone 8 when it leaked yesterday, but new details from the smart speaker's code suggests Touch ID will indeed move to the rear of the upcoming phone.

The same developer who found those other details has now discovered there's no evidence of an in-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner within the speaker's code.

Yesterday's leak suggested the iPhone 8 would be all screen on the front, so this may mean the Touch ID fingerprint scanner will have to move to the rear of the phone if Apple hasn't managed to workout how to put it in the display.

The holy grail

Both Samsung and Apple are heavily rumored to be trying to achieve accurate fingerprint scanning tech within a screen, but neither has so far been able to put it on a device available to the public.

The iPhone 8 may have an in-display fingerprint scanner, but it is just the code isn't included in the HomePod firmware yet. It may even be the company has decided to drop the fingerprint scanning tech altogether in favor of a new tech.

Yesterday's leak teased infrared Face ID tech suggesting the phone would be able to scan your face to unlock your phone, but it's uncertain how this would be as secure as your fingerprint to open your device. Other face recognition tech is often fooled by tricks like using photos of the user's face, so there are some hurdles to overcome before dropping the digit reader.

The latest leak also suggests there will be an upgrade to the status bar (the line atop the screen on iOS that shows your clock and battery) bringing with it new interactivity.

What exact features that will bring though is currently unclear, but now we're hearing more and more about the iPhone 8 and iOS 11 we may find out what the new features are soon.