The last major iPhone redesign happened in 2017 when Apple debuted the iPhone X. There have been no major changes since then, but some fans are still waiting for the classic beauty without the Touch ID home button and camera notch.

This helps explain why we have these iPhone 12 renderings. They come from SlashLeaks (via BGR), although the original URL has been removed - probably because they are actually unofficial designs rather than leaks, going from the watermarks on the images made by alga_kg and techonelogy.

What makes these unique compared to other renderings of the iPhone 12 we've seen is that the Touch ID sensor has been reintroduced, albeit not as a home button, but as a new kind of semicircular notch on the bottom of the phone. In other words, this design will probably also use the gesture-based navigation introduced in the iPhone X and adopted in all models, including the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

Meanwhile, the front camera notch is gone. It is unclear where the designer-drawn front camera will go instead, but most likely it will be in the thin bezel between the display and the phone's metal frame.

On the back, we see a camera patch similar to the one found on the iPhone 11 Pro. However, the camera, located where one would expect to find a telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, has been shrunk for some reason, perhaps to accommodate a different type of lens. On the side, meanwhile, the mute slider, power button, and volume buttons are colored differently than on the main housing and appear to be less vivid versions of what Google did to these keys on the Pixel 4.

But as we say, this phone will not be the one Apple announces in September. It is less realistic than many of the other iPhone 12 designs we have seen, reflecting existing leaks and rumors, and some of the craziest examples even have built-in projectors.

Ming-Chi Kuo, a renowned Apple analyst, is our best insight into what the company's plans are for the iPhone 12. He mentions a few specifics, including four versions for Apple to choose from, 5G capabilities, and a time-of-flight sensor in the rear camera block, but nothing to suggest that Touch ID will return or that the camera notch will finally come to an end.

If you are a fan of Touch ID, you might want to keep an eye on the iPhone SE 2 instead; according to rumors introduced by Kuo himself, at least the larger Plus variant of this mid-range iPhone (also called the iPhone 9) will be equipped with a Touch ID sensor. And by the end of next month, that particular device could be on its way.

If you want an iPhone that you can actually buy right now, you might want to look at the iPhone 11. It's the best Apple smartphone you can get for the money, and there's not much to separate it from the Pro variant, which costs several hundred dollars more.