This is one of those times when the best of leaks come from the company itself. Apple has “accidentally” left some snippets of clues in its HomePod firmware. In an early release of the firmware for the upcoming Apple HomePod, developer Steve Troughton Smith has discovered references hinting at the presence of face detection technology in the upcoming Apple iPhone 8.
Initially rolled out last week for developers, the Apple HomePod firmware will not be available to the public before the month of December. Smith discovered that the firmware includes a number of references to face detection unlocking feature as well as the overall form factor of the device.
The developer Steve Troughton Smith is the first to confirm the presence of ‘Pearl ID’ in BiometricKit, an infra-red (IR) unlocking feature based on facial recognition, which has been rumoured to be featured in the next-gen iPhone. The IR is crucial for facial recognition in low-light environments.
At this point, we cannot vouch for ‘Pearl ID’ being the official name of the feature yet since there have been speculations that it will be called a more descriptive name like the ‘Face ID’. Adding to these findings, another iOS developer Guilherme Rambo dug into the HomePod firmware and found out that the upcoming iPhone 8 will have the codename D22.
Furthermore, the firmware reveals the key form factor of the device D22. The code suggests an edge-to-edge bezel-less iPhone with no apparent home button and a notch at the top of the device that will most likely include the various sensors and IR.
This only confirms the various leaks we have seen over the past few weeks about the upcoming iPhone 8. Accidental or not, we are bound to be barraged with more leaks surrounding the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, and HomePod devices since September is just a few months away.
According to the rumours so far, Apple will be introducing three new iPhones this year, one of which is the iPhone 8 expected to come with an OLED display and Touch ID. 2017 marks the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone and celebrating this occasion; Apple will be launching the iPhone 8 with a slightly revamped design. However, there have been rumours that the launch might be delayed since Apple is apparently struggling to integrate the Touch ID biometric sensor into the display.
