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

Integrating the Touch ID sensor into the iPhone 8's display remains a big bottleneck for Apple, according to a new report from analyst Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company.

"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 AAPL seems unwilling to use other vendors' products," Arcuri wrote.

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.


Arcuri does not believe that there will be any delays related to the 3D sensor.

It's widely expected that the 10th anniversary iPhone will be a massive update. It will purportedly have a chassis made of reinforced glass with a stainless steel metal frame and an edge-to-edge display that has no bezels on the top and bottom. Additionally, the front camera, Touch ID, speaker, and other sensors will apparently be embedded into the display. Another report claims that the device would be a clear piece of glass with a next-generation OLED screen. The 5.8-inch screen is said to feature a main 5.15-inch display area with a reserved 'function area' below for virtual buttons. The device may use a stacked logic board design freeing up space for a larger battery pack. More recently, Apple is said to be equipping the phone with wireless charging, an iris scanner or face scanner, and a 3D camera.

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[via AppleInsider]