Apple iPhone 8 to ditch the physical home button

After Samsung was reported to do away with its home button on the upcoming Galaxy S8, now it looks like Apple is ready to remove the home button from its upcoming smartphones.

Why do we say this? It's because according to a recent report Apple has been granted a patent for an "interactive display panel with IR diodes". What this means is that Apple's new smartphones could have a virtual home button instead of a physical one placed within the touchscreen.

The patent filing by Apple which detailed a touch display that incorporates micro-LED sensing technology instead of the ubiquitous active matrix hardware as seen on most mobile devices was made public on Tuesday by the US Patent and Trade Office. It was first spotted by AppleInsider.

However, this new report interestingly supports the rumors that we have have been hearing about radical hardware changes expected on the next-generation iPhone which many are calling the iPhone 8. Likewise, Apple looks set to bring in some advanced system for its new flagship.

That being said, the elimination of a physical home button on theiPhone 8 now only adds to the rumored changes that we have heard earlier. It has been said that the iPhone 8 could feature a glass and steel body with a curved edge display, wireless charging and even an iris scanner that could be used to unlock the device.