iPhone 8 could ship with a Touch ID fingerprint scanner after all, according to new leaked footage.
The rumour mill has been back-and-forth for months over the fate of the Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
Apple is widely-tipped to ditch the physical Home Button (with its embedded fingerprint sensor) from the front of its next iPhone in order to extend the display to the very edge of the chassis.
It is unclear whether Apple will ditch its trademark Touch ID scanner completely, or try to relocate it elsewhere on the device.
Renown technology pundit Mark Gurman, who is typically very reliable when it comes to details on unannounced products from the Californian company, believes Touch ID will be dropped in favour of face-scanning.
According to his sources, the face scanning technology will be used to log-in, authenticate contactless payments and open secure iOS apps.
iPhone 8 will use a new 3D sensor on the front of the device to scan users’ faces.
According to those working on the new technology, the sensor is capable of scanning a user’s face and unlocking the iPhone in a few hundred milliseconds.
It is designed to work even when the smartphone is placed on a table, rather than held up close to the face, it has been reported.
The sensor records more individual data points than a fingerprint scanner, which in theory, makes it more secure than Touch ID.
However, Apple has filed a number of patents that describe embedding a fingerprint sensor beneath a glass display – like the one that will cover the front of the iPhone 8.
Apple is expected to include a virtual on-screen Home Button to navigate on the new iPhone, so it makes a certain amount of sense that parts of the OLED display will be able to scan and authenticate users’ fingerprints.
Some sources within the supply chain have talked about frustratingly low yield rates with this technology, leading to bottlenecks in productions.
It’s unclear whether Apple has dropped this solution as a result.
Finally, a torrent of leaked iPhone cases with rear-mounted Touch ID fingerprint sensors have appeared online throughout the summer.
This design has been heavily criticised for being less elegant than the other possible solutions.
Apple design guru Sir Jony Ive purportedly wants the iPhone 8 to resemble an uninterrupted sheet of glass.
A circular fingerprint scanner – slapped on the back of the new iPhone – would ruin that aesthetic.
However, a new video reportedly filmed in the supply chain, claims to show employees testing new Touch ID scanners on the back of iPhones.
This footage, which was shared across Chinese social media, could point to Apple having opted for this solution on its next-generation iPhone.
Express.co.uk has been unable to verify the authenticity of the video, so it’s worth taking it with a healthy dollop of salt.
Apple is tipped to unveil the next iPhone at a media event in mid-September.
Elsewhere, iPhone 8 is widely-tipped to ship with a 5.8-inch OLED display.
This almost edge-to-edge display will cover the entire front of the phone, replacing the physical Home Button, and broken only by a small notch in the top bezel to house the front-facing cameras and 3D face scanning tech.
Previous rumours suggest the iPhone 8 will include OIS, Optical Image Stabilisation, for both lens used in the rear dual-camera set-up – something missing from the telephoto lens in the iPhone 7 Plus.
It is also expected to ship with True Tone, a technology that Apple debuted with its 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and ProMotion, which launched this year with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.