Apple looks set to launch its hotly-anticipated iPhone 8 in mid-September – despite a flurry of reports from the supply chain that suggested the flagship smartphone would be delayed until October or November.

iPhone 8 is purportedly back on track – but it might not offer the edge-to-edge screen experience that many have anticipated.

Following a stream of rumours from the supply chain that constrained supplies of OLED displays had delayed the launch, a new report suggests the next iPhone will debut in mid-September.

This is typically when Apple refreshes its smartphone range.

The new report comes courtesy of the oft-reliable KGI Securities, which has forecast the iPhone 8 will debut with the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S.

Unfortunately, the same report also predicts this sooner-than-expected release date is likely to come hand-in-hand with short supplies, with availability set to be low at launch and constrained throughout the holiday period and into early 2018.

KGI Securities claims the iPhone 8 model will ship in three finishes – black, silver and gold.

This aligns with leaked models pictured earlier this week, which appeared to show a Copper Gold finish.

Earlier this month, Apple forecast its earnings for the next financial quarter, which runs until the end of September.

Apple told investors that it expects to see somewhere between $49 billion and $52 billion in revenue next quarter. That was higher than many earlier estimates.

Many believe this forecast confirms the iPhone 8 release date will be held in September – since the figure is high enough to speculate that Apple will launch at least one new iPhone in September.

As the release date approaches, more information about the feverishly-anticipated smartphone has leaked online.

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The design of the iPhone 8 – amongst other details – was unearthed in the HomePod code

The next-generation iPhone will purportedly introduce a new edge-to-edge display design, dropping the physical Home Button and embedded Touch ID fingerprint scanner in favour of a screen that extends to the very edge of the chassis.

Apple looks set to replace Touch ID with face scanning, which some sources believe is faster and more secure than the former.

Code from the upcoming HomePod smart speaker, which was accidentally sent to developers outside of Apple earlier this summer, appears to confirm the Face ID functionality.

Developers have trawled through the leaked iOS variant, hunting for clues about the upcoming hardware.

iOS developer Matt Bonney appears to have discovered something interesting about the useable touchscreen area on the iPhone 8.

Although many have mocked-up designs of the iPhone 8 that show apps and content bleed to the very edge of the display, this is probably not going to be the case with the finished product.

According to the HomePod software, the touchscreen area on the new iPhone will be exactly the same as the iPhone 7.

That’s slightly disappointing – given that the iPhone 8 is rumoured to ship with a 5.8-inch display, compared to 4.7-inch screen on the iPhone 7.

In his diagram of the usable screen real estate, developer Bonney highlights a “function area” in red.

It’s unclear how this portion of the display will be used – and why Matt Bonney has not included it in the useable screen area.

Previous leaks from the HomePod code point to the area housing a virtual Home Button.

 

Red = New New iPhone “function area” and status bar.
Blue = Current iPhone 7 content area.
Yellow = Minuscule extra content space. 😕 pic.twitter.com/cppfZWTMwb

— Matt Bonney (@Bonney) August 8, 2017

Previous rumours suggest the iPhone 8 will include OIS, Optical Image Stabilisation, for both lens used in the rear dual-camera set-up – something missing from the telephoto lens in the iPhone 7 Plus.

iPhone 8 is widely-tipped to support wireless charging, thanks to the all-glass design.

This purportedly would not have been possible with the anodised aluminium case used for the last three generations of iPhone. 

It is also expected to ship with True Tone, a technology that Apple debuted with its 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and ProMotion, which launched this year with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.