Apple Still Struggling With iPhone 8 Touch ID Issues Weeks Before Reveal

Apple’s iPhone 8 is edging nearer its official announcement in September, assuming rumors and the company’s normal release cadence are anything to go by, but things are not all going according to plan. That’s the story coming from KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Andy Hargreaves who cites industry sources when he claims that Apple has just weeks to correct an issue it is experiencing with the as-yet unannounced flagship phone.

According to Hargreaves, Apple is having problems making the technology for its new Touch ID configuration work, with rumors of the company wanting to put the fingerprint sensor under the display having circulated for months.

If doing exactly that is causing problems for Apple, then it is possible it will resort to using a Home button similar to current generation iPhones or even move the sensor to the rear of the device instead. Hargreaves also suggests that there is a possibility that there will be no fingerprint sensor at all, although given its requirement for Apple Pay, we do not see that as viable.

Apple continues to struggle with the workaround for the fingerprint sensor. This increases the potential that the new OLED iPhone could be delayed, or ship without a fingerprint sensor, either of which could increase risk to unit sales and mix for the cycle.

iPhone 8 concept by Martin Hajek

Apple’s iPhone 8 is expected to pull out all the stops when it is announced later this year, and with the original iPhone’s tenth anniversary to be celebrated, the company clearly wants to make an impression. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is currently regarded as the industrial design to beat right now, and with the bar set so high, Apple will be swinging for the fences. If Hargreaves is right and Apple is running out of time to perfect its hardware, then there will be some very tired people beavering away in Cupertino over the next couple of months.

(Source: Barron’s)

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