Skip to main content

iPhone 7 photo surfaces showing edge-to-edge screen, but it’s probably fake

iphone-7

A new image has leaked on Chinese social media site Weibo, claiming to show an iPhone 7 with an edge-to-edge screen. The top and bottom chins appear to be unchanged, with the Home button and speaker in the usual positions. Nevertheless, eliminating the left and right bezels would be a major design change for the phone and is currently not supported by any other rumors. Previous Chinese media photos purported to show the rear of the phone, which looked almost identical to the current iPhone 6s.

Sadly, this image could be very easily faked … simply by taking a photo of an iPhone 6s and Photoshopping a black rectangle over the front of the phone. We could only find one image of this purported device; we would give the picture more credibility if there were more photos from alternative angles.

Full size image of the purported iPhone 7 leak below …

Moreover, we have noticed some inconsistency in the image, which supports our belief that this photo is likely faked. On the bottom side of the screen display, the black line between the screen and bezel is not smooth. There is a very clear point where the line juts forward, circled in blue above, a likely artifact from a Photoshop rectangular fill.

If the device was legitimate, we would expect the line to make a solid straight edge with the white bezel. That area of the photo is also heavily pixellated, a common technique to disguise modified regions of an image, again suggesting that some Photoshop trickery is at play. However, there is a slim chance that the photo is legitimate and the visual oddity is simply a consequence of the low image resolution.

KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple will introduce a major iPhone redesign in 2017 with a larger 5.8 inch display and ‘iPhone 4’-style chassis. As such, expectations had been lowered for this year’s design which is what makes the possibility of an edge-to-edge iPhone 7 screen unit so interesting. The image from Weibo lacks dimensions, so it’s unclear whether the image depicts a 4.7 inch screen, a 5.5 inch screen or something else.

It’s worth noting that previous iPhone 7 rumors have only ever showed the back side of the device, looking almost identical to the iPhone back design with tweaked antenna lines. However, this is the first widely-shared leak of what the front of the iPhone 7 could be.

59ee6c16jw1f2dxlr8gmpj20ku0x5dj2

What do you think? Faked or real? Do you want the next iPhone to feature an edge-to-edge display? Personally, I would love if Apple overhauled the front bezel iPhone design with this generation, regardless of whether this photo has been faked. Let us know in the comments what you think.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Vincent Conroy - 8 years ago

    Looks genuinely fake…

  2. Drew (@gettysburg11s) - 8 years ago

    I am not sure how much of a leap forward this edge to edge screen is, but there is usually a little truth to these rumors, and Apple will probably feature something of a redesigned bezel. I am more worried about a thinner iPhone. Listen, Apple, the iPhone is thin enough, and really hard to hold without a case. We need more battery life, not less.

  3. ilyasyurdaon - 8 years ago

    Before that, why dont you overhaul the mobile version of your webpage, 9to5mac? It suffers on every iPhone I’ve seen because of the millions of javascripts you run in the background, God knows why!

  4. dksmidtx - 8 years ago

    Who cares whether fake or not – I WANT!

  5. usmansaghir - 8 years ago

    Fake!!

  6. claytonkimball - 8 years ago

    I’d focus on the enormous top and bottom bezels before the sides.

  7. Nav (@scarysmurf) - 8 years ago

    I would put my money on fake. Look at the home button, makes me think this is a knockoff iPhone with screen protector/overlay (notice the circle around the TouchId that isn’t centered). These obvious fakes shouldn’t even see the light of day.

  8. standardpull - 8 years ago

    A touch-centric phone is not a TV. User input is a critical feature of the screen on a smartphone.

    I want a bezel on my smartphone. Touching the far left and right extremes with a case is a challenge on my 6. Making the bezel too small will make touch accuracy much harder.

    Sure, squish down the top and bottom bezels. But not the sides, as that’s mere form over function. Leave “hipster” bezel-less designs to those who produce garbage phones.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      If you have trouble touching the left and right edges on the iPhone 6 then you have a piece of trash case you should break in half and throw away. The side bezels should absolutely be reduced to the edges, and they absolutely will be in the future. Cases are irrelevant, cases are supposed to be designed to compliment the design of the phone, not hinder functionality (as your case evidently does). It’s mind-numbingly simple to design a case that would easily allow anyone with a functioning brain to easily touch the sides of the edge-less display.

      People also complain that they think they’d accidentally touch the display of it were edge to edge. Well I have some 5 year old information for them: the iPad has had software Palm/thumb rejection for years, and if they haven’t mastered that by now….

  9. rogifan - 8 years ago

    I’m doubtful Apple will get rid of side bezels until they’ve dealt with the home button and can make the top and bottom bezels smaller. Removing the side bezels just makes the top and bottom ones look even bigger.

  10. Zac Hall - 8 years ago

    Looks fake, Apple wouldn’t do that blue circle thing

  11. elme26bih - 8 years ago

    Hope this is fake!

  12. Look to the down right corner, the line doesn’t look straight? I’d said it’s fake, but I love the idea. The current design with bumpy edges is oldschool…

  13. RP - 8 years ago

    Most definitely fake. They would need to change the
    Resolution for this junky sized one off?
    If they were going to go off and make a major change they would also do something about the forehead at least. I can see the home button stay for a while but that huge forehead is going away with any dramatically new change.

  14. PMZanetti - 8 years ago

    I’m almost 100% certain that Apple will do almost nothing to the top, bottom, or side bezels with iPhone 7. Because reasons.

  15. lachneyjames - 8 years ago

    Look at the top edge of the black screen, right side. You can tell the edges have be colored in with a marker. Totally fake picture.

  16. Joseph Minard - 8 years ago

    it would be nice to see a red iPhone 7 after all real apples are red yellow and green so a red iPhone will be a awesome color for the new line up of iPhone 7 and 7 plus and tim cook said he wanted to make a impact on this year’s iPhone’s so why not change the color’s around and make it fit 40 yr milestone they are in this is the year to bold

  17. nwmike - 8 years ago

    Fake! You can see the audio jack in the lower left, which is more likely to be removed. The little glitch in the lower right hand of the bezel just confirms the bad photo shop.

  18. Steve Ballen - 8 years ago

    Couldn’t we figure this out by using Touch ID as a scale? If the screen size isn’t 4.7″ or 5.5″ it’s not real.

  19. cdm283813 - 8 years ago

    Is this a fake for the 2016 iPhone 6SS or 2017 iPhone 7? I’m so confused.

  20. Fallenjt JT - 8 years ago

    What makes you think this phone has thinner bezels since the screen is not on? It could be still the same size of bezel but the it’s black instead of white on both sides.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      Every white iPhone has a white bezel all the way around. They wouldn’t do a black side bezel. This is clearly fake, but still.

  21. Chris Cicero - 8 years ago

    It’s a ‘Chinese original’, which means ‘fake’

  22. That’s fake; Jony would never have such an ugly transition from white to black screen without a bezel around the edge. Plus the giveaway is the antenna line in the exact spot that the 6S and 6S Plus in the back. This is a screen protector stick on plain and simple.

  23. Jakes Vis - 8 years ago

    Edge to edge SUCKS! Especially when you like putting a cover on your phone. Samsung proved this

  24. jkruehne - 8 years ago

    would like a bezel free iPhone ;-)

    what, if the device is real, but the screen photoshoped, just to eliminate reflexions of the “user” / environment?

    anyhow. remove the bezels.

  25. jiggerslovesthemapples - 8 years ago

    If they powered it on, that may have been more believable…

  26. sotehpr - 8 years ago

    Shorten up the tob and lower bezels

  27. idk prolly fake but i mean how can they do that to fake it up?

  28. proudinfidelusmc - 8 years ago

    Other than being a fake most likely, it is obviously an iPhone 5/5S/SE sized phone.

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.