【Romance Archives】

Apple is Romance Archivesset to announce the new iPhone 8 at the Steve Jobs Theater on Sept. 12.

But ahead of the event, I found a "copper gold" iPhone 8 dummy model at a Chinese case-maker's booth during the big IFA consumer technology show in Berlin this week. I fondled the hell out of it, and I have to admit, I'm even more pumped for the real phone release than I was before.

As much of a nightmare as it is to navigate the sprawling Messe Berlin halls where IFA exhibitors are posted up, it's always the tiny little no-name Chinese companies that have some of my favorite products at the show.

This year, I searched for the iPhone 8, and it didn't take long before I found a small booth with a dummy model for me to hold in my hands.

As someone who follows the iPhone rumor mill quite closely, I've seen more than enough leaked photos and comprehensive hands-on videos of the dummy models on the internet.

But nothing compares to seeing a genuine fake iPhone 8 in the flesh.

First things first, the fake iPhone 8 I found is a physical mockup, so there are no working components, the screen doesn't turn on, and the materials and colors may not be representative of the real thing.

Still, the dummy model gave me a good idea of what to expect when the iPhone 8 actually launches later this month.

Let's talk about the size to start: It's barely larger than my iPhone 7, but the screen stretches edge-to-edge, corner to corner, and it wasn't hard for me to imagine what iOS 11 would look like with display turned on, even without a physical home button.

The cutout (or "notch" as some people are calling it) at the top housing the earpiece, selfie camera and sensors isn't as large, long or ugly in person. After playing with the iPhone 8 mockup for a few minutes, I didn't even notice the notch anymore, just like on the Essential Phone. On another all-black version, the notch blends right into the frame and screen.

And despite being a dummy model, the buttons did click. They didn't feel any different from the ones on my iPhone 7 and the elongated power bottom on the right side was easier to reach.

Flipping the fake phone around, I was immediately drawn to the vertically-aligned dual cameras. I expected the camera bump to be larger and thicker, but it's actually quite slim. It still looks very strange to have the cameras aligned vertically and so close to the Apple logo, but I'm sure we'll all get used to it.

The glossy back is smooth and meets the steel frame perfectly with no raised ridges or anything. On the real device, the glass back is supposed to allow for wireless charging.

And yes, if you must know, there was no headphone jack on the dummy model so you should probably stop praying it'll return. Because it won't.

In recent years, leaks have ruined all surprise when it comes to new iPhones. This year, it's been especially bad. Not only have detailed dummy models like the one I saw been available for months, but Apple leaked much of the new iPhone's software features through an accidentally released HomePod firmware. Oops?

With a new edge-to-edge OLED display, no home button and wireless charging, it's going to be the biggest update to the iPhone in years. And while it was cool to see the dummy model, it's a total tease and only makes me more impatient for the official Sept. 12 launch.