Problem Solved? iPhone 8 May Have Fingerprint Sensor Embedded In Display

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One of the persistent rumors about the iPhone 8 has been that Apple was having issues with the technology needed to embed the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the display. However, it sounds like the problems have been solved, clearing the way for the sensor to be embedded in the iPhone 8’s OLED display.

Nonetheless, rumors of the fingerprint sensor being on the back of the device still linger, courtesy a set of renderings that seem to be from a questionable source.

iPhone 8 could have embedded fingerprint sensor after all

In a report spotted by DigiTimes, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News stated that sources at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company informed it that Apple plans to include an optical fingerprint sensor embedded on the phone’s display. The technology will reportedly replace the current Touch ID sensor which is fitted in the Home button. It will allow the iPhone 8 to scan the user’s fingerprint when they put it on the OLED display.

The iPhone 8 will reportedly have a screen ratio of 18:5:9 rather than the 16:9 ratio on current iPhone models, the newspaper added. It also corroborated the rumor about the lack of a Home button, which is something we’ve been hearing for a long time. The device’s camera will also reportedly feature invisible infrared image sensors to improve the high-pixel camera and support augmented reality technology.

Support for previous iPhone 8 rumors

The Economic Daily News said that TSMC discussed all of these design changes for the iPhone 8 at the 2017 NA Technology Symposium in Taipei on Thursday. They pretty much match the rumors we’ve heard from other sources. For example, multiple analysts have claimed previously that the iPhone 8 will support augmented reality.

The phone is also expected to have a 5.8-inch display but not be much bigger than the iPhone 7, which is possible by getting rid of the Home button and embedding its functionality in the display.

Other iPhone 8 renderings show Touch ID on the back

Also this week, a set of new iPhone 8 renderings supposedly show the Touch ID sensor on the back of the phone. The renderings appeared on the Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo, but the source seems rather questionable. 9to5 Mac spotted the images, which show the fingerprint sensor underneath the Apple logo on the back of the phone.

The news blog noted some discrepancies between what they show and the rumors we’ve been hearing. For example, the device in the images seen on Weibo appears to be lacking glass on the back side, although multiple analysts have predicted that the iPhone 8 will have glass on the back so it can support wireless charging. The front also seems to lack the expanded camera that’s expected on the device. 9to5 Mac notes that schematics which were purported to show one potential version of the iPhone 8 last month look similar to the models in these photos.

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