The iPhone 8, Apple's upcoming premium smartphone that may also be named the iPhone Edition or iPhone X, has never been seen in action, despite all the leaks involving the device — until now.
A leaked video allegedly shows a functioning iPhone 8, providing the first look at a working version of the device. However, due to various details spotted in the video, its authenticity is being questioned.
The Working iPhone 8 Video
The leaked video, which was uploaded to the official Apple subreddit, allegedly shows an iPhone 8 being used in the dark. The person recording the video then taps on what appears to be the app for Chinese social network Sina, with the next screen blurred as it apparently contains his or her personal information.
The video shows the notch that has been discovered in leaked iPhone 8 designs that revealed an almost bezel-less display. The notch is where Apple will place the smartphone's speaker, sensors, and front-facing camera. At first glance, the video looks to be a legitimate leak of a working iPhone 8.
Is The iPhone 8 Video Real?
However, upon closer inspection of the video, several details that raise questions about its authenticity have been discovered.
First and foremost, because the alleged iPhone 8 is being filmed in a dark location, it is impossible to see the other features of the device beyond its display. While it is possible that the person who took the video had to hide in a secluded place, it could be a conscious effort to keep the other details of the device hidden.
Why would the person who took the video have to hide the smartphone's other details though? It is because there are speculations that the device is not the iPhone 8, but rather an Android device running a launcher app to make its interface look like that of an iOS device. The biggest indication that this is the case is that the signal indicator and Wi-Fi icon of the alleged iPhone 8 are at the top-right corner of the display, which is the placement of the icons for Android devices but not for iPhones.
Apple could certainly have made the movements of the display components, considering that the notch takes up the spot where the clock used to be on the screen. However, the notch on the alleged iPhone 8 video also raises questions, as it does not look symmetrical. There are currently no iOS-looking launchers for Android that have the cutout, so it is possible that the person taking the video simply placed something on top of the device to make it look like the iPhone 8 notch.
With these questions, it is easy to say that the working iPhone 8 video is fake, but we will never know for sure until Apple raises the curtains on its 2017 iPhone models at the company's Sept. 12 event.
