Apple HomePod Firmware Accidentally Reveals iPhone 8 Bezel-less Design and Facial Recognition Feature

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.

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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.

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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.