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Friday, June 23, 2017

Apple still undecided on iPhone 8's on-screen fingerprint sensor, claims analyst

 Apple is still few months away from launching its next flagship iPhone model, likely to be called iPhone 8. The smartphone is speculated to come with several new features among these include on-screen fingerprint sensor. However, according to latest rumours the Cupertino-based technology company is still undecided if it wants to include such technology in the upcoming handset or not.

Apple's pending decision on the inclusion of the on-screen fingerprint sensor means that smartphone itself has not been finalised yet, says a report in Apple Insider quoting analyst Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company. It may be possible that the final design may see some changes from those that have been surfacing on the web lately in the form of leaked images.

iPhone 8 rumour roundup: 9 likely features

iPhone 8 rumour roundup: 9 things to know
All-glass design
Curved OLED display
Vertical camera position
Runs on A11 processor
3D technology
Screen-embedded fingerprint sensor
Augmented reality
Pricing: iPhone 8 may cost above $1,000
To 'debut' iOS 11

iPhone 8 rumour roundup: 9 things to know

Apple iPhone has turned 10 this year. The year 2017 edition of iPhone will be the tenth edition of the world's 'most popular smartphone'. Little doubt then that analysts expect Apple to give its iPhone range a big overhaul this year. Here are 9 hottest speculations doing rounds about the upcoming Apple smartphone(s).

All-glass design

The upcoming Apple iPhone 8's design is claimed to be completely different from that of the existing iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus. Rumours claim that iPhone 8 could sport an all-glass body. The device also showed up in an alleged leaked video recently. The camera positioning, front panel and the overall build are said to get a refreshing change.

Curved OLED display

Several reports claim that the smartphone will have a 5-inch flexible OLED display, built by Samsung. The entire-front panel is rumoured to be covered with 2.5D glass coating. The front camera is said to be camouflaged behind the screen. Speculations also suggest an increased screen-to-body ratio.

Vertical camera position

Apple is also expected to make some changes in the camera department in iPhone 8. The rumoured smartphone, besides sporting more number of megapixel and in-camera specifications, could sport a vertical dual-camera positioning instead of a vertical positioning. This means that the smartphone will better recognize foreground and background when placed horizontally in a VR headset.

Runs on A11 processor

Apple iPhone 8 is likely to run on the company's faster A11 processor. The processor is said to be made using 10nm FinFET manufacturing process, same as Qualcomm's 835 is made on. TSMC or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is reportedly to begin the production of A11 chipsets this month. A better processor could also result in a better battery life. As for the RAM, the iPhone 8 could sport 3GB RAM. While some reports say that only iPhone 8 will feature 3GB RAM, some say that the iPhone 7s and the 7s Plus may also sport 3GB RAM.

3D technology

Another highlights of the rumoured iPhone 8 is said to be the inclusion of 3D sensing technology. For this, Apple is reported to be working with a company called Lumentum, which develops 3D sensing technology. However, so far there are no details on how Apple plans to implement the technology in its upcoming smartphone.

Screen-embedded fingerprint sensor

iPhone 8 is speculated to have finger-print sensor embedded right into the screen. With this, the display is expected to stretch to the lower part of the front panel, which may be called 'Function Area'. The Touch ID-embedded Home button too is said to be replaced by a fingerprint sensor embedded in the display.

Augmented reality

The iPhone 'Edition' smartphone could also feature augmented reality (AR) features. Supporting the rumour, a Bloomberg report recently claimed that Apple has assembled a team including experienced hardware and software developers to push its AR efforts. The team is led by a former Dolby Laboratories executive and includes formers members from Facebook's Oculus and Microsoft's HoloLens divisions.

Pricing: iPhone 8 may cost above $1,000

According to a report on Fast Company website's website, Apple iPhone 8 smartphone could sport a price tag of well over $1000. Citing sources close to the company, the report claims that this is because OLED displays are said to cost the Cupertino-based company almost twice as the LCD displays used in the current-generation iPhones.

To 'debut' iOS 11

Like past many years, Apple is likely to introduce the next-generation of its iOS operating system, iOS 11, at the upcoming WWDC 2017 in June. There is no word on the features of the operating system. The company is also said to be removing as many as 200,000 apps from its App Store post the launch of iOS 11. These will be the apps that are not compatible with 64-bit standard.
iPhone 8 rumour roundup: 9 things to know
All-glass design
Curved OLED display
Vertical camera position
Runs on A11 processor
3D technology
Screen-embedded fingerprint sensor
Augmented reality
Pricing: iPhone 8 may cost above $1,000
To 'debut' iOS 11


It has been also mentioned that Apple is testing the new fingerprint scanner in three different ways. While the first method used could be by thinning the cover glass on the sensor area, the second method may include boring a 'pinhole' through the glass for an optical or ultrasonic sensor. The third method includes a film sensor integrated on to the display with capacitive or infrared technology.


The analyst claims that Apple may not place a fingerprint sensor at the back panel as widely rumoured.


Recently, a smartphone tipster mentioned that the launch keynote of the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7s Plus will take place on September 17. It was further mentioned that the device's sales will begin on September 25. Since there is no confirmation about the launch dates, this piece of information should be taken with handful of salt.


Some leaked images showing the moulds of all three alleged upcoming iPhone models also surfaced on the web.


The images showed the back panel designs of the three devices. From the looks of it, the iPhone 7s Plus could be the tallest in height, followed by iPhone 8 and iPhone 7S (shortest one).

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