iPhone 8 design finally revealed

Apple appears to be going on a redesign for its next iPhone. Photo / AP

Having kept an almost identical design of its flagship smartphones since 2014, Apple is set to provide a fresh overhaul for the forthcoming iPhone 8.

The tech giant is tipped to use its annual September event to announce the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, which will offer moderate updates from the predecessors - the main change will be swapping the aluminium case for glass to allow for wireless charging.

But they'll also use the event to launch the radically redesigned iPhone 8, a device expected to set tongues wagging.

The bold new design will include a stainless steel frame between two glass panels, which slightly curve to give the appearance of iPhone made of one continuous sheet of glass.

The very first actual images of the iPhone 8 (prototype) via @BGR pic.twitter.com/LIIpS3ChPX

— Safwan AhmedMia (@SuperSaf) May 17, 2017

Apple's iPhone 8 is expected to have an advanced edge-to-edge 5.8-inch OLED display that will rival the impressive 83 per cent screen-to-body ratio seen on Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Using finalised schematics leaked from the manufacturer of Apple's next-generation smartphones, pictures show what the iPhone 8 is going to look like when its unveiled later this year.

To achieve the 83 per cent screen-to-body ratio, Apple has removed the physical home button from the front of the display.

As the leaked design doesn't include a fingerprint scanner on the rear of the device, it is believed the touch TouchID sensor will be embedded in the display.

The design also shows a new dual-lens camera system that will feature the same optical zoom capability as the iPhone 7 Plus' camera, LED flash a microphone.

Surprisingly, the camera module on the iPhone 8 is oriented vertically, which is likely to do with the internal hardware engineering needed to fit the dual camera, front camera and new 3D infra-red sensors on the smaller device.

However, it could be designed to specifically enable the new augmented reality features Apple is expected to reveal at the event.

While being unveiled this coming September, the release of the iPhone 8 might not come until early 2018 if recent rumours of manufacturing difficulties hold merit.