Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. plans to transform the way people use its next high-end iPhone by eliminating the concept of a home button and making other adjustments to a flagship device that’s becoming almost all screen, according to images of the new device viewed by Bloomberg News and people familiar with the gadget.

And:

Apple is preparing three new iPhones for debut next month. One of the models, a new high-end device, packs in enough changes to make it one of the biggest iPhone updates in the product’s decade-long history. With a crisper screen that takes up nearly the entire front, Apple has tested the complete removal of the home button—even a digital one—in favor of new gesture controls for tasks like going to the main app grid and opening multitasking, according to the people and the images.

Are we about to enter the buttonless era?

With cameras capable of scanning sophisticated enough to verify your face, there’s a world of possibilities for hands free gestures. Imagine unlocking your phone, starting a podcast, scrubbing forward a few minutes, and adjusting the volume, all without touching your screen.

Fascinating article, lots of design details said to be in the about to be released iPhones.