Mashtalk

For those who obsess about the iPhone, it was the mother lode.   After a long period without any substantive informations (although plenty of whispers, speculation, and questionable photos), if finally happened: the biggest iPhone 8 leak so far. In what looks like an understandable but massive mistake, pre-release firmware for the Apple HomePod somehow got uploaded to a public server.   There's a lot of interest in HomePod — the Apple "smart speaker" that's meant for music and has Siri built-in. Apple plans to release it in December, so getting a look at the software four months early is definitely a big deal.   But that was just the beginning. The HomePod software actually included a lot of information about a new iPhone — what has generally been called the iPhone 8 — including details on the exact shape of its edge-to-edge screen, a new kind of biometric security that involves facial recognition, and other features.   One of the key people in deciphering the leak