iPhone 8 Leak Shows L-Shaped Battery, Wireless Charging and More

A new leaked image reportedly out of Apple’s supply chain shows off the internals of this year’s highly anticipated iPhone 8, and it seems to reveal and corroborate several features of the upcoming premium flagship.

The image was apparently taken by a Foxconn employee and posted to Chinese social media site Weibo over the weekend. It appears to be a black and white processed image of the next iPhone’s internal components —  rather than an actual x-ray image of the device’s insides. The iPhone depicted in the image is in the “engineering validation test” (EVT) stage of manufacturing, a process that usually takes place ahead of a device’s first production run. It also uses the “Ferrari” internal codename that was leaked last year.

Though none of the internal components are labeled, it’s fairly easy to pick out certain critical parts. For example, the image shows off a large, black central spot for the Phone 8’s inductive wireless charging coil, which is pretty much a dead-on match for previously leaked images of the device. The image also shows the flagship’s vertically oriented dual camera module, as well as a stacked logic board design, which was previously predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this year.

Interestingly, there’s also a large L-shaped space. That seems to indicate that the iPhone 8 will also sport an “L-shape” or “bent” battery design. That’s a feature originally slated for the iPhone 9 in 2018. Kuo’s research hinted at such a possibility for the iPhone 8, but before today’s leaked image, there hasn’t been much evidence that the new innovative battery design would be used in this year’s flagship. “L-shaped” batteries carry a number of advantages, including overall better battery life and additional internal space for other components.

There is a caveat to the leak, however. Specifically, it’s the fact that the depicted phone is only in the EVT stage. That’s a really early manufacturing stage for the iPhone to be in this close to its rumored unveiling in September, which could mean that the image itself is suspect. Of course, the image could have been taken earlier in the year, or it could be another sign of how software delays and supply shortages are snarling the premium flagship’s release timeline. Several reports suggest that, though the iPhone 8 could be launched in September, these software and supply issues could delay its shipping date for a few months.

Beyond the features shown off in today’s leaked image, the iPhone 8 is also expected to sport advanced 3D sensors for enhanced facial recognition, as well as a suite of front-facing lasers that could give a boost to the device’s augmented reality capabilities. The top-tier flagship will also be the first iPhone with an edge-to-edge, OLED display, with a new Function Area replacing the iconic Home button.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]