iOS 11: New Siri icon hints at rumoured iPhone 8 virtual home button redesign

Apple is reportedly set to ditch the iconic physical home key

Aatif Sulleyman
Thursday 22 June 2017 13:26 BST
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Apple has barely changed the device’s look in recent years
Apple has barely changed the device’s look in recent years

A new Siri icon spotted in iOS 11 appears to confirm rumours about the upcoming iPhone 8’s design.

Apple is widely expected to drastically change the look of the iPhone this year, with the company seemingly set to take a similar approach to Samsung.

The Galaxy S8 ditched the physical home button for a stunning “all-screen” design, which makes all other handsets on the market look outdated, and the next iPhone will almost certainly follow suit.

The new Siri icon in iOS 11, an eye-catching, animated, multi-coloured swirl, is the same size as the iPhone’s home button and sits “in exactly the same spot where a home button would be on an edge-to-edge iPhone without a customary home button in the bezel”, reports Apple Insider.

Apple will drop the iPhone’s iconic physical home key with the iPhone 8, according to numerous reports, in order to maximise the handset’s screen-to-body ratio.

It could measure 5.8 inches and feature a built-in virtual home key and Touch ID sensor.

Cutting down the bezels and building a virtual home button into the iPhone’s screen are both sensible moves.

While the iPhone is an attractive device, Apple has barely changed the device’s look in recent years, allowing Samsung to catch up and surpass it in the design stakes.

The iPhone 8 – or iPhone Edition – will be unveiled in September alongside the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, though reports suggest it will hit the market significantly later than the other two devices.

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