The iPhone 8 will likely omit the Touch ID fingerprint recognition system altogether, according to KGI industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
The KGI report claims that the “technical challenges” introducing fingerprint recognition to the rumored OLED iPhone 8 will result in it being removed altogether, citing the “disappointing scan-through of [the] OLED panel” as one of the reasons behind its removal.
“The full-screen design doesn’t work with existing capacitive fingerprint recognition,” KGI reported, noting that a “more complex panel design” would be required in order to get Touch ID to work. However, the removal of this panel has also meant that KGI has backtracked on its previous belief that production ramp-up would be postponed to “late October or later,” with Touch ID’s implementation in the iPhone 8 having previously been rumored to be the cause of this expected delay.
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The KGI reports backs up a number of earlier claims regarding the upcoming iPhone 8, reiterating that it will be a 5.7-inch device with a usable area of 5.2-inches. It also repeats the heavily reported rumor that Apple is set to ditch the Home button altogether, with its functionality now being introduced to its OLED display.
The report also repeats speculation that three iPhone models will be revealed at Apple’s September event, but that the OLED iPhone may launch later than the two LED models. All three will boast 64 GB and 256 GB storage options, along with utilizing Apple’s Lightning technology for their power. KGI expects that the OLED iPhone 8 will be hard to get your hands on, though, with stock predicted to in low supply heading into 2018.
Meanwhile, the OLED iPhone 8 is expected to cause many smartphone manufacturers to follow suit in the future. A prediction from TrendForce (via 9to5Mac) suggests that 50 per cent of smartphone manufacturers will follow suit by 2020, slowly transforming the technology into an industry standard.
