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I won't believe that at this point in time features of the iPhone 8 have not been finally decided on yet, if it's really planned to be released this year.
 
If they can work this out in time i hope we can 3D Touch (Deep press) the virtual home button to open multitasking view or Siri (off topic I know but this came immediately into my mind)

Also I don't actually believe this news. Apple knew what the S8 will look like weeks before the official announcement due to various leaks. If you compare the design of the S8 and the iPhone it is more than clear that the iPhone design needs a complete overhaul and actually even be a better one (fingerprint scanner behind the display). I honestly can't imagine that they wouldn't have figured this out by now.
 
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I don't believe this rumor, only because I was specifically told NOT to upgrade my iphone now by an Apple employee, and I sure need an upgrade badly ;)


This doesn't mean a new phone won't come out - maybe it'll just have the traditional fingerprint biometric thingy.
 
What about when it's lying on a desk? Or sitting upright in a dock?

if it is lying on a desk or sitting in a dock the user is highly likely engaged in some other activity that using the phone. What about the UX of that distraction/interrupting devices chattering during that activity.... why is there is no.

Some folks who aren't hooking their phones like crackheads actually put it down to do other things. Noticfication details and/or categories pop up on the screen. if it is not important, don't pick it up. However, on a immediate crack response dimension ... yeah front is better. It is a faster distraction from the task at hand.




The user always has to look at the screen, ergo the most convenient place to have it is facing the user.

You look at the screen with your eyes.... not your fingers. Your fingers are wrapped around the phone. Most of your finger prints are on the back when you are naturally holding a phone. The front's utility only lies in the space of when not actually using the phone. Once in use the front is not where your fingers are most of time in most use cases.


If you have to turn the device over to switch the phone on or to hit a sensor you cannot see it's a UX failure because it's adding an extra step in the natural user method.

You don't have to turn it over at all to turn on. There are motion sensors in the phone. If it doesn't screen activate when you raise to look at it ... then it is waaaaay behind the curve. Motorola , Google Nexus for several years , Google Pixel all activate on pick up among others ( last two have sensors on the back ).


If it is more convenient to have buttons on the back then why not add all of them there? Including all the screen button prompts? The sensor is mostly virtual now anyway so the mechanics are more similar to a virtual button than a real one.

The prompts should mainly be for just unlock ( you are going to use ) and buy ( often at a NFC terminal ). I think you are mixing the home button with the fingerprint sensor. They don't have to be mixed together. Apple has up to this point, but they don't have to be.

You wouldn't because buttons of any kind, even those that have tactile interfaces, work best when you can see them.

This is not UX principles at all.
Horse hooey to any competently trained touch typist. A photographer looking through a view finder with a finger on the shutter button. Buttons work best if they are where your hands and fingers are.

The only time a button that's hidden from view works (control sticks, levers etc) is when your hand never moves from the same position for the duration of the activity.

Oh, like holding a phone?

And again loops back to needing to use this when not holding the phone..... We begs are security question, if not in actual, real physical possession of phone why is it being unlocked (or buying something). From a security standpointl, why is this a good thing? This isn't about the "home" button action, it is about real security.
 
Oh boo hoo, poor Apple can't get its crap together AGAIN... First, Apple realizes only after it's too late that its current laptop offerings suck and that pro users want pro features, not thin with zero battery life. I guess it took a precipitous drop in JD Powers ranking to make them see this. Then Apple realizes only after it's too late that it's trash can Mac Pro sucks for the majority of pros, and is surprised at the backlash for not upgrading the computer for almost four years... huh, imagine that. Now Apple struggles to provide the only real new design update to the iPhone in the last three years.

It's difficult to feel sorry for them, honestly. Nobody is watching the store over there anymore and Tim Cook sucks at anything except charities and bean counting. It's time for an executive shakeup at Apple.
 
There's a lot wrong with putting the Touch ID on the back. For example, unlocking the phone when it's in a case, installed in a cradle in a car, or laying on a desk. A minority of users don't run across any of these use cases, but for most users they are deal breakers.
Cases would most likely have a cutout. Car cradle, use Siri or password (which you have to have for Touch ID anyway). Laying on a desk? I don't know, pick it up.:rolleyes:

These reasons seem like minor annoyances that would soon be forgotten with usage and muscle memory.
 
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This would be a big surprise if they have to dump a key piece of tech at this point (hardware should be way finalized). But stranger things have happened...especially when it comes to yields (thinking back to sapphire displays and some Intel die shrinks of recent years).

Touch ID on the back would look like a Google Pixel (it has better placement than the Samsung s8), the cases just have a cutout - it wouldn't be the end of the world, but.... Seems like the better course of action is to delay the phone until they get that under the screen tech working and no top or bottom bezels, otherwise forget it.

I suppose they could just release the 7s and just not say anything about the surprise iphone 8 (or whatever it was to be called) phone. Could you imagine the pandemonium on the forum (and tech press) if Apple did that?
 
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However I thought Synaptics already has a solution for finger print sensor under glass up to 1 mm, so is Apple even considering this as an option or just bullishly moving forward rolling there own crappy version for courage sakes.
If this rumor is true, then the answer is probably a third option (one you didn't give).
 
Having used a nexus 5x for my business phone for more than a year now, I can honestly say that the fingerprint reader being in the back of the device is just as good as the front in almost all cases that I've used it. It does impede unlocking the phone for a quick check while in a table, but otherwise I haven't found it problematic in the slightest. I personally think most of the outcry on this page on how terrible a design like that is comes from those who haven't used it, but to each their own. I can agree that it's not aesthetically the best, but Apple has devolved in many ways since the iPhone 4 series, imo anyway.

Much of the reason for the demand in bezel reduction is simply size. At this point bezels are taking up 25% (an estimation in my part) of the footprint of our phones. This doesn't lend itself to easy one-handed use, which is something many on this forum cherished, at least up until Apple virtually ditched their 4 inch designs. Having played a small bit with the SGS8 demo unit, it really makes things more accessible and you have virtually the entire footprint acting as usable screen real estate.

All that said I still really like touchid and how Apple has implemented it along with its security, so it's not like I'm a proponent for seeing it go or even altered severely. I am saying though that I'd be perfectly fine swig it moved to the back of the phone. Integrate it into the Apple logo in a clever way (just a thought, to improve the aesthetic, maybe) and go from there. I'd rather have the back of the phone look somewhat less appealing for the trade off of a physically more compact design.
 
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Can someone explain to me why placing Touch ID on the back of the phone is not "optimal" and "user-friendly"? Many Android phones have it on the back (towards the center) and despite what many think, it works well and is quite comfortable.
 
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Wasn't there a diagram or leak/mock-up floating around that showed an elongated power button in the 8?

What if Apple is trying to build the Touch ID into the power button. That would eliminate the need to place it on the back and make it more user friendly considering it's naturally how we hold out phones anyway.
 
If they fail at delivering this, ill just sit the whole phone out. Im not getting one of those ugly 6/7 type designs.

The SE is probably going to be fine for another year either way.
 
I won't believe that at this point in time features of the iPhone 8 have not been finally decided on yet, if it's really planned to be released this year.

This says decided, but now facts on the ground are changing it. It is very believable that yield rates are not settled at this point in April for new stuff that has never been manufactured before and which won't go into heavy production until July or maybe even August.
 
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Whatever. iPhone 8 will probably be outshined by Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with its optical zoom camera.

http://www.droidreport.com/articles...ure-hinted-by-core-photonics-patent-files.htm

This is where physics come in. Optical Zoom on a smaller scale of machinery is not only improbable but according to laws of physics impossible to achieve. the only way to do it is to use a combination of extremely limited optical zoom of microns worth of space and digital zoom which is nowhere as good as actual optical zoom achieved by glass where you need INCHES not microns to get actual zoom
 
Take your time Apple and get it right. I don't want a TouchID-less phone that I have to bring up to my face to unlock or having to fumble on the back for the right spot.
What if the "right" solution takes, say, five more years to develop? Would it still be the right solution?
 
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