Integrating Touch ID Sensor Into iPhone 8 Display Remains Bottleneck for Apple [Report]

Analyst Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company, however, contends that iPhone 8’s rumored in-screen Touch ID sensor remains its biggest bottleneck. Arcuri’s note issued to investors Wednesday mentions poor yields for iPhone 8’s Touch ID, suggesting Apple might even change the design of the handset if its in-screen fingerprint reader cannot be produced in volume in time for a fall launch.

 If Apple is unable to resolve yield issues there are three possible courses of action, suggests Arcuri. First, Apple could ditch Touch ID in favor of facial recognition. Second, Apple could move Touch ID to the back of the smartphone. Finally, production could be delayed but the iPhone 8 could still be announced alongside the iPhone 7s.

“For the 5.8-inch OLED version, the biggest bottleneck remains integrating an under-glass fingerprint sensor into the display. The current yield rate of Apple’s in-house AuthenTec solution remains low and Apple seems unwilling to use other vendors’ products,” reads the research note.

I also don’t think they’re likely to ditch Touch ID and rely solely on facial recognition, as Arcuri suggested. What if Apple instead moved Touch ID to the backside of the phone, like Samsung did for the Galaxy S8 series?

Instead, Apple will likely pre-announce iPhone 8 alongside the iterative iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates this fall while delaying production of the OLED handset.