iPhone 8: Sensor Production Issues Could Delay Release
iPhone 8 production will be significantly delayed if the word of an analyst for Rosenblatt Securities is to go by. Jun Zhang composed a note to investors on Friday, May 26, concerning issues that Apple may be having problems regarding the fingerprint sensors for the iPhone 8.
According to Zhang, fingerprint sensor inventory could possibly fall short of what Apple needs for its production target, and thus, inventory for the device will not only be delayed. He also said that production output will also be scaled back, as reported by Apple Insider.
The culprit for a possible delay lies with problems with the on-screen fingerprint sensor being integrated into the iPhone 8, according to the Rosenblatt Securities analyst. Issues with the sensors have brought down the component inventory, and it could possibly bring down the 100 million to 110 million launch inventory target for the iPhone 8. Zhang estimates that, post-launch, Apple will have enough iPhone 8 units at hand to satisfy 85 million unit orders.
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The analyst believes that this shortfall would open the door for other smartphones, particularly the Huawei Mate 9, to grab a share of the market. The situation could develop to the iPhone 8 losing "its competitiveness when the market fills up with high screen-to-body ratio smartphones and 3D glasses," according to Zhang.
These and other issues could delay the iPhone 8 up to the last quarter of 2017, according to the International Business Times. This pessimistic projection is not the first from Rosenblatt Securities, but other rumors coincide with their analysis.
Analyst Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company made his own note that the fingerprint sensor is a problem for Apple at this stage. "For the 5.8-inch OLED version, the biggest bottleneck remains integrating an under-glass fingerprint sensor into the display," Arcuri said.
Previous speculations suggested that Apple was trying to integrate Touch ID with the display screen for the iPhone 8 — a development that was rumored to be problematic for the company. A rumor, in particular, points to a delay brought about by an STMicroelectronics factory in Crolles, France contributing to the backlog on sensor components.
