Apple’s tenth anniversary iPhone dubbed iPhone 8 has been one of the most anticipated and rumored handsets of 2017. However, the major bone of contention that all rumors and leaks have agreed upon is the placement of the Touch Id in the tenth-anniversary device. While several rumors maintained that Apple would embed the Touch ID underneath the frontal display glass, others were of the view the fingerprint sensor would be integrated on the rear panel of the iPhone 8.
Recently it was speculated that Apple has developed a 3D Facial Recognition sensor which would be replacing the Touch ID. The latest leak courtesy publication Mac Otakara has revealed a lot more details on the launch date and design of the next generation iPhone.
No Touch ID for the handset?
Sources in Apple’s Asian supply chain have stated to Mac Otakara that the smartphone will not be coming with a Touch ID. The sources stated that that the manufacturing blanks of the smartphone’s power button located on the side does not have a space necessary to embed a fingerprint sensor. Thus, this lead to rumors of the company placing the Touch ID somewhere else on the handset.
However, in the past, leaked schematics that were sourced from a supplier in April showed that a profoundly large wake/sleep button hinting that the Cupertino-based company may have shifted the Touch ID to its original place i.e. the home button. Nevertheless, the sources stated to Mac Otakara that those rumors were in the past, as Apple has now developed a front facing 3d facial recognition sensor and there it is quite likely that the technology will be embedded in the handset in place of the Touch ID. The report claims that this new technology has been dubbed “Face ID” and will be located next to the FaceTime camera.
iPhone 8 to launch in September, 7s series to launch later
The same source which revealed information about the iPhone 8’s Touch ID placement also stated that Apple will be unveiling the device at its fall event, scheduled to take place in September.
On the other hand, the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus will get either an October or a November launch. The report also suggests that other than an unusually late introduction there is a high possibility that the initial supply of the device will be limited. Apart from the limited supply the sources also revealed that the handset will be available only in black at first, although other shades may be introduced later on.