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Apple Has 'Just Weeks' to Solve iPhone 8 Touch ID Dilemma

penajmz said:
I’m sure Apple already figured this out. Probably pushing these “rumors” out for hype.
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That is a distinct possibility.

MR quote: "the company has "just a couple of weeks" to solve the matter before its earnings estimates are at risk".
Sentences like these make me sad, and think back to the days when product quality and design seemed to come first without the overriding profit considerations ruling release dates. Maybe that was just an illusion, but it certainly seemed that way, especially in the case of Steve's Apple.

It was ready, when it was ready.
 
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As with all big rumors about iPhone, nothing will happen. Plain 7s and 7s Plus will be released. Nothing more, same design as in 2014, completing 4 years of same design until next year when a new design will appear.
 
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x-evil-x said:
no way this is true. Another company already came out with this tech I bet without a doubt apple has known about what they used in their tech way before any of this nonsense. They probably had it ready well before earlier in the year. Just like that other company. It may not be the whole screen I'm ok with the 1/4 lower half
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So which company is this? I don't know of any company that released it to market and is able to mass produce it. You are referring to a tech demo of a very slow prototype:


It's nowhere near ready for a big release like the new iPhone. So if the companies that actually are specialised in this tech like Qualcomm and Samsung can't make it work, you honestly think that Apple somehow magically has it working even earlier this year? You are not being realistic.
 
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newyorksole said:
Exactly! Can you picture the executives, engineers and manufacturers in a meeting right now like "sooo uhh.. what are we gonna do? we want to launch in September.."
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You're assuming they will launch in September. This could be a real issue that has caused them to delay manufacturing the iPhone8. It could simply be announced in september and delivered in december while the 7s is announced and released in september.

Was the white iPhone that long ago that everyone has forgotten it?
 
Something tells me Apple has already figured out how to implement Touch ID directly under the screen, and will announce it during the unveiling of the iPhone 8. If it were anything else, like 3D facial recognition, wouldn't someone have already found evidence of anything other than Touch ID, in iOS 11 beta? :rolleyes:
 
marvz said:
Just place TouchID in the Sleep/Wake Button for iPhone 8 and then make iPhone 8s with TouchID behind the display.
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That is the least likely thing to happen. You understand that Apple would absolutely never juggle placement of any feature like that, let alone the #2 feature of iPhone on priorities list.
 
Didn't read the past 6 pages so I'm sure someone else has mentioned this, but I don't think touch ID will be removed for the next phone simply because the technology isn't ready yet. If Apple decides facial recognition or something else is the better solution then I have no doubt they'll eventually move in that direction and get rid of other features if they feel it's necessary. But there are still too many obstacles in purely relying on facial recognition where touch ID would still be more user friendly. What if I'm wearing a hat, or sunglasses, or I'm all bundled up because it's cold out, or if it's just dark, and so on. So many variables that I don't think facial recognition technology is able to fully address yet.
 
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Companies don't make product design changes this close to release date since there are a lot of internal testing and external certification testing required such as FCC emissions.

As far as in-screen fingerprint sensor, if a display R&D and manufacturer such as Samsung haven't succeeded then it's unlikely a customer like Apple that buy off-the-shelf components won't be able to either.

If Apple do remove fingerprint sensor it's likely they'll use multi-factor authentication such as Microsoft Windows Hello 3D face unlock to unlock phone and something more secure like Samsung Iris scanner to authorize payment.
 
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x-evil-x said:
no way this is true. Another company already came out with this tech I bet without a doubt apple has known about what they used in their tech way before any of this nonsense. They probably had it ready well before earlier in the year. Just like that other company. It may not be the whole screen I'm ok with the 1/4 lower half
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For Touch ID to work under the screen you have to place a camera under the screen to read your finger prints.You're "ok with the 1/4 lower half", for that to work Apple would have to fit a camera that is the same size of the 1/4 lower half of the screen instead of a little fingerprint sized sensor they use now.

Do really think space conscious Apple are going to fit such a large camera under the screen?
 
droppingbasses said:
If I were a bank, I'd be pissed if Apple went with the facial recognition. In response, I would most likely pull out of the Apple Pay program because a sacrifice in security would not be worth it to me. That scenario of banks pulling out scares me.
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What sacrifice in security?

Btw, Touch Id itself is no proof that the finger belongs to the card owner. It's less about security than it is about convenience and being "good enough" security.

deuxani said:
So which company is this? I don't know of any company that released it to market and is able to mass produce it. You are referring to a tech demo of a very slow prototype:
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True, the Qualcomm behind-screen sensor is still a prototype. But it's not "very slow". If we watch the video at say, 1:00 in, it can be seen that it's quick enough.

It's nowhere near ready for a big release like the new iPhone. So if the companies that actually are specialised in this tech like Qualcomm and Samsung can't make it work, you honestly think that Apple somehow magically has it working even earlier this year? You are not being realistic.
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Exactly.
 
doelcm82 said:
You may be right, and Apple would prefer to ship 15+ millions of iPhones with fingerprint sensors that don't work reliably than to try and fix or work around a problem with mass production that occurred more than two months before they even announced the phone.
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You're conflating issues that Qualcomm is having with their version of ultrasonic fingerprint scanners with the unknown implementation Apple has clearly been working on for 2+ years.
 
Apple has a history of software + hardware, making interactions behalf of what the hardware can do software wise. Now the UI interactions of ios 9 became the start of what iPhone 8 is going to be, removing the homebutton. All those small clues on how the ui works and also adapting it to available technology. They for sure release a wireless audio device (the airpods) along with removing the headphone jack to offer something in return when rwmoving hardware and then focusi g on making the software experience around it amazing. There’s no way apple removes touchId in favor for facial, just think for yourself it would require multiple actions to invoke an accepted answer with facial. Process on touch id is tap hold. Facial would mean, tap tap position, or tap position. Either way it involves more senses and more for the body to comprehend, therefor not suitable as a replacement. Very very gimmicky.
 
NT1440 said:
You're conflating issues that Qualcomm is having with their version of ultrasonic fingerprint scanners with the unknown implementation Apple has clearly been working on for 2+ years.
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I’m not conflating anything. I’m discussing to the rumors about Apple’s unknown implementation. Don’t try to bring Qualcomm into this.
 
deuxani said:
So which company is this? I don't know of any company that released it to market and is able to mass produce it. You are referring to a tech demo of a very slow prototype:


It's nowhere near ready for a big release like the new iPhone. So if the companies that actually are specialised in this tech like Qualcomm and Samsung can't make it work, you honestly think that Apple somehow magically has it working even earlier this year? You are not being realistic.
Click to expand...

Apple doesn't want to pay licensing fees to Qualcomm to use that finger print sensor. Apple decided to invent their own, that's why there are manufacturing difficulties.
 
MacRumors said:



For all the rumors we've seen recently surrounding Apple's upcoming "iPhone 8", one of the most inconsistent remains the fate of its Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology in the redesigned flagship device, which is expected to launch in September.

In late May, supply chain sources suggested that Apple had overcome technical hurdles and that the OLED iPhone will have Touch ID integrated into the display. However, according to a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this month, Apple plans to replace Touch ID in the iPhone 8 with a facial recognition security system - a prediction echoed by both JP Morgan analyst Rod Hall and Bloomberg.

iphone-8-render-7-and-7s-800x525.jpg

In the latest throw of the dice, a report from investment publication Barron's concludes that Apple is still struggling to put a fingerprint sensor under the glass of its next iPhone, and that the company has "just a couple of weeks" to solve the matter before its earnings estimates are at risk.

According to KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Andy Hargreaves, who contributed to the report, Apple has until August to either place orders for chips to run a fingerprint sensor, or miss that window and not have a fingerprint ID at all, or delay more significantly the release of the iPhone.Hargreaves considers the possibility that Apple will replace Touch ID with facial recognition "increasingly likely" as time passes, but "far from ideal". Echoing the thoughts of many observers, Hargreaves goes on to highlight the challenges a supposed replacement facial recognition security system would need to overcome to meet the standard of existing Touch ID, particularly with regard to authenticating Apple Pay.
Hargreaves concludes that if Apple thinks facial recognition isn't sufficient by itself for login and authentication, then a delay in the retail availability of the OLED iPhone is "very unlikely, but possible". But while the analyst believes a delay up until mid-November would not have an impact on investor expectations for the cycle, anything beyond that timeframe could have negative repercussions.

8f4241dbly1fhftve3lxcj20qo0x6wh5.jpg

Alleged leaked 'iPhone 8' glass back panel via Weibo​

Meanwhile, alleged leaks continue to trickle out into the social media sphere, the most recent coming today via Chinese microblogging service Weibo claiming to show an "iPhone 8" production glass panel back that has no cutout for a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Early rumors suggested Apple would relocate the sensor to the rear of the handset, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Apple is thought to have incorporated 3D sensing technology in the forward-facing camera of its "iPhone 8", which may perform a function in the purported facial scanning feature. Alongside the redesigned OLED iPhone, Apple is also expected to announce incremental updates to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

Article Link: Apple Has 'Just Weeks' to Solve iPhone 8 Touch ID Dilemma
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[doublepost=1499795077][/doublepost]If there's no touch ID, I'm waiting for the 8s, just to let the rest of the world beta test it for me.
 
bigjnyc said:
initially I thought the same thing... But why would Apple push out fake rumors of uncertainty and potential delays with the Samsung S8 lurking around? That wouldnt be smart because folks who are on the fence, or could go with any OS would see this and decide to grab the S8, rather than deal with the uncertainty.
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Anyone "on the fence" at the moment will remain there since it's only a couple of months until they know for sure. Most people can wait 2 months and won't get something else until they know what Apple is offering this year.
 
I prefer the location of the touch sensor on my Nexus 5x... perfectly located for my index finger while I'm holding the phone. Basically where the Apple is on the back of an iPhone. Under any circumstance, I'm sure Sir Jony Ive can figure this out rather than suffering the humiliation of abandoning TouchID.
 
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