New iPhone X leaked ahead of release — biggest spoiler in Apple history?

by: Ryan Castillo Sep 12, 2017

The golden master version of iOS 11 appears to have leaked yesterday evening, shedding some very early light on products and features Apple plans to announce at their unveiling event on Sept. 19 at 10am PST. Apple blogger, John Gruber, has referred to the spoiler as the biggest for an Apple product to date: “More surprises were spoiled by this leak than any leak in Apple history.”

Two most of the most controversial rumors were confirmed in the leak last night, which had been evidently sent to tech blogs 9to5Mac and MacRumors by a “rogue” employee. The first was the removal of the home button so as to enhance the overall full screen experience. Second, rumors were confirmed over Apple’s new facial recognition software. Face ID appears to be the official marketing name for the facial recognition features, which will likely replace the Touch ID fingerprint recognition feature.

The leak also solidified rumors that Apple’s newest device would be called the iPhone X. According to sources, Apple has chosen to name the OLED version of the new model to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the iPhone. The two LCD models will be named iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

There even appears to a lot more fun in iOS 11 than rumors previously anticipated. One particular feature, referred to as Jellyfish, appears to be 3D, animated versions of emoji characters for iMessage. Dubbed “Animojis,” the characters will use facial tracking and your voice to create expressive animated messages.

There are also references to AirPods 1, 2, which may be a revised version of the wire-free headphones Apple first introduced last year.

Perhaps one of the most exciting features of the newest software is an integrated camera feature called Portrait Lighting, which will produce dSLR-like shots by using depth by simulating different lighting effects. The new feature will supposedly work with the flash on the device, offering up Contour Light, Natural Light, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono, and Studio Light, as well as provide a new range of video recording options like 1080p HD at 240 fps.

Finally, a selection of colorful new wallpapers are said to look impressive on an OLED display. There are stills of the earth and moon, several floral images, a selection of retro-style rainbow wallpapers, and one wallpaper that’s plain black.