Apple iPhone 8 / Edition to sport front and back glass, but may scrap Touch ID due to production difficulties

The upcoming iPhone 8 is going to furnish a smooth stainless steel enclosure in-between its front and back glass covers, according to a new report. The design is somewhat a throwback to the classic iPhone 4 framework, which should be a welcome feature for Apple fans that are eagerly waiting for its tenth anniversary smartphone.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara says that Apple is mixing things up with the iPhone 8. The upcoming handset, which is also unofficially known as the iPhone Edition, is supposedly going to have a polished stainless steel middle insert holding together its front and back glass panels. According to the blog, the new Apple smartphone is going to utilise an enhanced version of the Apple Watch’s stainless steel enclosure.

Not only that, the iPhone 8 / Edition is reportedly going to feature a traditional flat OLED screen with 2.5D cover glass on its edges, just like initially speculated. Over the last few weeks, a number of renders have indicated that the upcoming Apple handset is set on housing a vertical iSight Duo camera instead of the current iPhone 7 Plus’ horizontal setup. The new alignment is associated with VR (virtual reality) implications. Mac Otakara also notes that the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus models are going to be a tad thicker than their predecessors, possibly rendering a number of existing cases and accessories useless.

Apple may also be compelled to disregard the Touch ID feature of the iPhone 8 / Edition completely if the company fails to find solutions regarding its fingerprint sensor’s integration with the display. Pacific Crest Securities equity research expert Andy Hargreaves believes that Apple is taking about a month to work on the issue.

“Likely options for Apple include a delay of production or elimination of fingerprint sensing on the OLED iPhone,” reads an excerpt from the analyst’s research note as quoted by MacRumors. “We believe Apple continues to work on solving its optical fingerprint issues. If it’s able to solve the problems in the next month or so, it would likely place volume orders at that point. This would likely lead to a delay of the OLED iPhone launch, but we would not expect it to meaningfully affect volume for the cycle. If it’s not able to fix the problems in that time frame, Apple may be forced to eliminate fingerprint sensing from the OLED iPhone altogether.”

Touch ID is essential to Apple Pay, and it also seems like 3D facial or iris recognition is set on complementing fingerprint identification, not replacing it. Stay connected with IBTimes Australia for more Apple iPhone 8 / Edition updates.

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