iPhone 8 fingerprint scanner could cause months of delays

Apple usually launches new iPhones every September, which is just three months from now, but we might be waiting until October or November for the iPhone 8, as apparently the company still hasn’t figured out what to do about the fingerprint scanner.

In a research memo from analyst Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company, obtained by AppleInsider, it’s said that Apple is set on putting the scanner in or under the screen rather than on the back of the iPhone 8, but that the exact method of doing so hasn’t been decided.

The three possible options apparently include making a pinhole in the glass for an optical or ultrasonic sensor, thinning the cover glass over the sensor area, or integrating a film sensor into the display using either capacitive or infrared technology.

Worth the wait?

There’s good news here, in that at least Apple probably will deliver on its ambitious plan of an on-screen scanner, but it could leave you waiting a bit longer for your iPhone, as Arcuri is confident enough in this information – and in that it will cause delays – that he’s left the iPhone 8 out of his sales forecast for the September quarter.

And this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of iPhone 8 delays, with other rumors also suggesting the phone has been subject to production delays.

If you just can’t wait the extra month or two though you might still have an upgrade option, as it’s likely that Apple will launch an iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus in September still, with these phones likely to be less ambitious and expensive than the iPhone 8, but still an improvement on the iPhone 7.