Turns out the iPhone 8 might be pretty damn ugly

While there have been enough "pragmatic optimizations" (as Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive calls them) — like the iPhone 6's protruding camera bump and ugly antenna bands, and the iPhone 7's "courageous" lack of a headphone jack — Apple's never really built an ugly iPhone.

That could change with the iPhone 8.

Newly leaked schematics claiming to depict the iPhone 8's design were published on China's Weibo (via 9to5Mac), and man do things look fugly.

The 3D designs reportedly originated from a Foxconn factory in China. And while some of the designs appear to match up with previous rumors (larger edge-to-edge screen with slimmer top and bottom bezels, and no home button), there are a few things that look very un-Apple-like.

Rumors have long suggested Apple will remove the iPhone's iconic home button and embed the Touch ID fingerprint sensor underneath the new OLED screen. This so-called iPhone 8 design shows what appears to be a home button/Touch ID sensor on the backside of the phone, just below the Apple logo.

I'm not saying Apple wouldn't reposition the button/sensor to the rear — the location would still be better than where Samsung put its fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S8/S8+ — but it just doesn't look right and you can't access the sensor without lifting it up, which would be a problem if it's laying flat on a flat surface like a table. Battery cases would also need yet another hole cutout in addition to one for the camera, like these ugly battery cases for the Pixel.

Plus, Apple would look like it copied Android phones, which have had center-aligned fingerprint sensors on the back for years.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The rotated dual camera system and LED flash is also questionable. Why would Apple rotate the cameras after only one generation? It, too, doesn't look right. But maybe I'm wrong again and the larger screen's forced Apple to move some parts around in order to fit everything in. Just from eyeballing the schematics, it would appear a horizontal dual camera system could overlap with the front-facing FaceTime camera.

Moreover, where's the rumored curved screen edges? Or the glass and metal sandwich design? Or the iPad Pro-like Smart Connector that might be used to connect to an AR or VR headset? I get that we're analyzing rumors with other rumors, but this design looks way too sketchy.

Apple prides itself on the look and feel of its devices, and if you ask me, this design just seems way too off. That said, a recent research note from Cowen and Company did claim Apple's having issues integrating Touch ID under the screen, so take that for what you will.

I've got no problem with putting the fingerprint sensor on the back. It works fine on Android, but it's just so inelegant. And elegance is what iPhones are known for.

Everything we've heard about the iPhone 8 so far has suggested Apple's next flagship will be the most feature-packed phone since the original iPhone launched a decade ago and took a dump all over BlackBerry and Nokia.

But if Apple can't figure out how to put the fingerprint sensor on the front, I'll probably just skip this year and wait until the iPhone 9. Fingers crossed these schematics are either fake or for a prototype that'll never happen.