14 DAY TRIAL // The most discussed thing of the upcoming iPhone 8 without a doubt the location of the Touch ID sensor, with recent reports claiming that Apple is even considering giving up entirely on a fingerprint sensor to bet all-in on facial recognition cameras.
And while this could make sense at some level, it looks like Apple is yet to make a decision on the location of the fingerprint sensor, with analysts claiming that the company has until August to solve the problem.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts explain that in order for the iPhone 8 to align with Apple’s schedule, the location of the fingerprint scanner needs to be picked by early August, so the company can then immediately start production and prepare the device for a November start of sales.
At this point, however, “it’s entirely unclear if Apple will be able to fix the problem in this time frame,” the analysts have been quoted as saying, with others projecting a bigger delay for the iPhone 8.
Touch ID still likely
As far as the facial recognition system is concerned, the same analysts believe that Apple wouldn’t go as far as offering such a feature as the only authentication method on the iPhone 8, pointing out that functionality and usability issues could dramatically impact experience with the device.
“We believe this is very unlikely, but possible if Apple thinks facial recognition is not sufficient by itself for login and authentication. A delay up until mid-November would not likely have a meaningful impact on our expectations for the cycle,” the analysts said.
The Touch ID sensor was originally believed to be embedded into the screen, but more recent reports indicated that Apple would only offer a virtual home screen in the display, but without a fingerprint reader. Furthermore, there were voices pointing that the fingerprint sensor could be moved to the back in the typical Android fashion, but this doesn’t appear to be the case, with most leaks showing a clear back with a vertical dual camera.
The iPhone 8 is very likely to be announced in September alongside the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, but the start of sales remains the biggest enigma for the time being, mostly because of this Touch ID headache.