Report claims to reveal another big change coming to the iPhone 8

With each passing week, it seems as if a different iPhone 8 rumor manages to grab our attention. One week might present us with a number of varying theories as to where Apple might place the iPhone 8’s Touch ID sensor, while the next week might focus on an endless stream of conflicting reports regarding the iPhone 8’s alleged release date. This week, the iPhone 8 rumor at hand focuses on a topic we haven’t heard too much about — color.

Over the past few years, Apple has shown a penchant for introducing a new iPhone model in varying colors in an effort to keep things fresh. With the iPhone 6s, for example, Apple rolled out its first Rose Gold colored iPhone. And just a few months ago, Apple introduced a red iPhone 7 as part of Apple’s ongoing participation with Product Red. It may all be superficial window dressing, but the reality is that an iPhone in a completely different color does tend to increase interest in and sales of a new device.

With the iPhone 8 set to be Apple’s most highly anticipated iPhone yet — not to mention Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone — it stands to reason that Apple might have some interesting and original color ideas in store for us come September. To that end, a pair of tweets over the weekend from leaker Benjamin Geskin relays that Apple’s iPhone 8 will arrive in four distinct colors. That in and of itself isn’t terribly surprising, especially given that the current iPhone 7 is already available in six colors. What makes Geskin’s information so intriguing, though, is his assertion that one of the colors will be “mirror like.”

Geskin later tweeted that the mysterious mirror like color may come in either black or silver. Note that the photos here aren’t meant to be realistic renders.

Geskin’s information here comes from a source who claims to be familiar with Apple’s plans, which is to say that it’s probably worth digesting with the requisite grain of salt. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Apple want to do something particularly special for the iPhone 8, if only to help differentiate the company’s flagship iPhone model from the upcoming iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus releases.

It’s also worth noting that Apple has experimented with mirror like exteriors before, most notably on older iPod models. In other words, the notion of a ‘mirror like’ iPhone design isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance.

Colors aside, there’s no disputing that the biggest unanswered question surrounding the iPhone 8 centers on the fate of the Touch ID sensor. While early reports indicated that Apple figured out a way to embed the sensor underneath the display itself, a pair of reports from last week claim that Apple will perhaps do away with the sensor altogether and replace it with an advanced facial recognition scheme. Additionally, reports that the Touch ID sensor might migrate over to the back of the device resurfaced for the umpteenth time last week.

So while the volume of iPhone 8 rumors we’ve seen over the past few months is rather large, the influx of conflicting reports suggests that we still don’t know everything there is to know about what will likely be the most anticipated iPhone release since the original.