Oliver Haslam·

iPhone 8 Features Apple’s In-House In-Screen Touch ID, Entering Mass Production This September

As time ticks away and more and more rumors almost confirm that this year will see three new iPhone launches – two iPhone S models and an all-new iPhone 8 – it is fair to say that all the attention is on the more radical of the three expected devices.

If any of the rumors are accurate then the iPhone 8 will feature a new bezel-free front panel, causing Apple to either move the fingerprint sensor to the rear of the device or beneath the screen.

Technology for the latter has been seen in Apple patent applications for some time now, and a new report by the notorious DigiTimes has Apple ready to bring an in-house in-screen fingerprint technology to bear.

According to DigiTimes, Apple will indeed use its own technology when embedding the iPhone 8’s fingerprint sensor into the device’s screen – possibly the rumored ‘function area‘, ending a run which saw the existing Touch ID used throughout Apple’s lineup. Touch ID came about following Apple’s acquisition of AuthenTec back in 2012, and if the publication is right, Apple’s new technology will take over this year.

Apple has selected neither Synaptics’ Natural ID touch fingerprint sensor nor Qualcomm’s Sense ID fingerprint technology for its new OLED iPhones, and decided to use its own Authentec algorithm combined with Privaris glass identification technology to redesign a new fingerprint ID solution, according to industry sources.

On the subject of when the iPhone 8 will ship out, it is believed that the device will not enter mass production until after the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. DigiTimes has Apple beginning full scale production of the iPhone 8 as late as September, making a launch in the same month either unlikely, or simply destined for huge shortages.

Apple’s in-house developed fingerprint ID solution will be fabricated at TSMC’s 12-inch line using 65nm process technology, said the sources, adding that production for the new OLED iPhone is unlikely to start until September due to the redesigned fingerprint ID solution.

Of course, if the claimed $1,000 entry point for the iPhone 8 is accurate, who knows, perhaps demand will simply not be as high as previous iPhone releases.

(Source: DigiTimes, Top image: iPhone 8 concept)

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