An autumn release for what's being called the iPhone 8 is looking to be in doubt thanks to the ambitious design of the iPhone tenth anniversary release.
According to Business Insider the new model will have a screen that covers almost the entire front of the phone. Meaning there would be less room for the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. BI's report says that Apple have reportedly had trouble incorporating the sensor underneath the screen and are now looking at placing it on the back of the phone, underneath the Apple logo.
A leaked manufacturing document seems to suggest this.
iPhone 8 looks to be taking a new direction pic.twitter.com/mG19bcDYiC
— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) April 19, 2017
While Dickson's tweet has yet to be verified, he has published accurate Apple product information prior to launch in the past.
Other sources however are claiming that Apple might simply do away with the Touch ID sensor altogether. Apple is expected to introduce 3D facial or iris recognition to their products with iPhone 8 and they could plan to use that to replace the Touch ID sensor.
It would be a risky move to replace the Touch ID feature with the completely unproven 3D technology so the more likely scenario would see them use the technology to complement the Touch ID rather than replace it.
Either way it looks like the predicted autumn release could be pushed back to later in the year.
Via Uproxx