Expectations from Apple’s 10th-anniversary phone are running high but it looks like Apple might have to delay the iPhone 8 launch. As we all know, the biggest two features of the upcoming iPhone will be a bezel-less display and an under-the-glass fingerprint scanner.
A report from Cowen & Co.’s Timothy Arcuri is revealing that Apple is looking for a solution to properly integrate the sensor without creating production line problems. Earlier reports have pointed to manufacturing issues being caused by the new biometric tech.
The report also indicates that Apple has already made up its mind to move the security sensor underneath the glass. So it is decided by now that the scanner will neither be on the back nor on the power button (as some patents indicate).
Expected delay for the iPhone 8 is 1 to 2 months. Hence, Apple might launch the most expensive iPhone in September or October. Even then, the actual availability might be pushed even further. Meanwhile, Apple is looking at three options as a workaround to get out of the issue, as the sensor is showing a below-par response.
“1) thinning the cover glass for the fingerprint area (cover glass cutout), 2) creating a pin hole through the glass for optical or ultrasonic fingerprint sensing, and 3) replacing the AuthenTec Touch ID with a “film” fingerprint sensor that is integrated with the display (this can be done through either capacitive sensors or infrared sensors based on technology from LuxVue which was acquired by AAPL in April 2016).”, says the report.
Apple is not the only one having problems with the new sensors, Samsung seems to have already given up the idea, at least for the Galaxy Note 8. Surprisingly, Vivo has a working prototype of the technology which it wants to demo at MWC Shanghai from June 28.
