Apple Predicted To Ditch iPhone 8 Display-Embedded Fingerprint Scanner Like Samsung

Since early this year, rumors about Apple developing a new flagship iPhone with screen-embedded fingerprint sensor have been spreading like wildfire. The rumors were fueled by the idea that Tim Cook’s company is planning to launch a new smartphone that is mostly display and with very little bezels. However, a Wall Street analyst is now going against these speculations.

On Monday, Pacific Crest Securities equity research analyst Andy Hargreaves said that the Cupertino giant will likely ditch its plan of including display-embedded Touch ID into the OLED-based iPhone 8. Apple is already months into developing its next flagship iPhone but it has yet to finalize the fingerprint scanner for the device, making it plausible that the handset could either ship later than the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus or just launch sans a screen-embedded sensor at all.

“At this point, we do not believe Apple's optical fingerprint module provider has firm orders for production, which suggests Apple does not have functionality of the optical fingerprint sensor ready,” Hargreaves told Apple Insider. “Additionally, we believe Apple has evaluated Synaptic's optical fingerprint solution, but that it has not been qualified.”

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Like what previous reports said, Hargreaves also believes that if Apple pushes forward with its plan of an advanced fingerprint recognition technology for the iPhone 8, then it could just delay the launch of this model. The analyst stated that putting bulk orders for the new modules in the next months or so would still be OK, but this would translate into a delayed launch for the device.

Should Apple fail to sort things out ahead of its September event, the company is predicted to just completely ditch its plan of releasing an OLED iPhone with fingerprint sensing technology on the front just like what Samsung did to its Galaxy S8. While the analyst did not mention that this could only affect this year’s flagship iOS phone, it is presumed that the tech giant could pursue this advanced technology for its future iPhones.

Meanwhile, a newly leaked diagram of the iPhone 8 has confirmed the mostly screen design of the handset. The illustration also suggests that the device will be just as big as the iPhone 7 in terms of length and width. There is no mention of its thickness, but the diagram shows very thin bezels on all four sides — something that Samsung did not secure for its Galaxy S8’s Infinity Display.