New leaks reveal more about wireless charging and Face ID on the iPhone 8

The annual iPhone reveal is almost upon us and next month we should get an official look at everything Apple has put into the iPhone 8. Until then, the leaks and tips keep on coming at a steady rate, and the latest to hit the web concern the device's wireless charging and face recognition capabilities.

First up are X-ray shots of the phone from Chinese social network Weibo and reposted by well-known Apple tipster Benjamin Geskin: they show two iPhone templates in production, one with a TFT-LCD screen (probably the iPhone 7S and the iPhone 7S Plus) and one with an OLED screen (probably the iPhone 8). As well as the screen differences, the latter X-ray image has room for a much larger battery.

These templates both also have room for a charging coil to support wireless charging, a feature we've heard plenty of rumors about and which is backed up by new images sent to 9to5Mac: they show a glass back for the iPhone 7S Plus that would enable wireless charging more easily than the usual metal finishes.

Face look

For now we can't fully verify the authenticity of these pictures but they certainly match up with what we've already heard about the 2017 iPhones so far. It seems that the time is right for Apple to embrace the wireless charging tech that we've seen before in numerous Android handsets.

Another feature that's been tipped to come to at least one of the new iPhones is face recognition, or Face ID. Apple site iHelp has done some digging into the firmware code for Apple's upcoming HomePod smart speaker to discover a reference to a "resting" state, suggesting you'll be able to unlock your iPhone with a glance even when it's sat down flat on a surface.

That fits with previous speculation that Apple is building a laser-powered facial recognition system that beats anything currently on the market. Again, it's not a completely new rumor, but it adds to the dossiers we already have on the upcoming iPhones. Apple may not have too many surprises to reveal this time next month.