Samsung vs. Apple: SK Giant Suppliers Doubt iPhone Display-Embedded Touch ID

Samsung suppliers located in the tech giant’s homeland are doubting Apple’s rumored iPhone display-embedded Touch ID. This is according to a recent news report from a South Korean publication.

At the start of this week, Patently Apple cited a Korean tech report in its story about Samsung suppliers openly doubting the Cupertino giant’s ability to introduce a display-embedded fingerprint sensor in the upcoming next-generation iPhone. The Apple-centric site has learned from the report that Korean display tech firms are skeptical about Apple’s ambitious move. An official from one of the firms was even quoted to have said, “It is still extremely difficult to develop transparent sensors and components to be used for an all-screen smartphone.”

Despite the qualms, the suppliers are all for a big leap in industry. “If those technologies are fully developed, it would be a big leap forward within the smartphone industry,” the same official said. What’s kind of intriguing here is how the Korean report pointed out that local firm CrucialTec is also hard at work in developing on-screen fingerprint sensors. CrucialTec even showed off its invention alongside China’s Goodix at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress. Both firms did not divulge their timeline for commercial release of their screen-embedded readers.

Patently Apple went on to slam Apple’s rivals that are trying to discredit the U.S. company’s straight path to showing off another breakthrough in the industry through its upcoming 10th anniversary iPhone. The publication also called out “copycat machine” Samsung for attempting to compete with Apple by initially planning on a Galaxy S8 with on-screen fingerprint sensors. However, the South Korea giant clearly lost its chance now that final leaks of its next flagship are showing the biometric sensor situated next to the primary camera at the back.

Yesterday, IBTimes reported that Samsung decided to place its fingerprint sensor at the back of the S8 due to time constraints. “Samsung poured resources into Synaptics’ fledging technology last year but the results were frustrating,” an anonymous tipster stated. “With the production imminent, the company had to decide to relocate the fingerprint scanning home button to the back of the device at the last minute.”

With g giving up on introducing a display-embedded scanner in its upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship phone, Apple is now expected to enjoy the spotlight on its own. The Cupertino giant is already in the process of testing out its on-screen Touch ID and it still has a lot of time to do so ahead of the September launch event for its new iPhones.