The iPhone 8's software and release schedule causing 'sense of panic' at Apple, tips report

As usual at this time in a new iPhone development cycle, rumors start piling up that Apple is running into production problems with the new editions. Then comes the grand September unveiling, and the issues seem magically resolved, although with new designs we sometimes witness supply bottlenecks for a month or two after release, yet the dust settles down by Thanksgiving on average.

This year, however, there will likely be an iPhone 8 announced at the scene, in addition to the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, and in it there could be so many changes and unproven technologies, that it seems even Apple is running into trouble putting it all together. The latest in such reporting comes from a "source with knowledge of the situation," and they state that Apple was in a full-blown "sense of panic" last month, stemming from the need to perfect the software that will drive the new tech in the iPhone 8.

First off, there have been problems with wireless charging. Granted, the source says that Apple isn't using anything groundbreaking - inductive wireless charging of the Qi variety - but the company wants to make the process as seamless as possible, and that is turning to be an issue. It's not the Broadcom hardware that's at fault, but the software that manages the charging, it seems. If all else fails, Apple might be shipping the iPhone 8 with limited wireless charging abilities, tips the source, and then issue a software update for whatever it has up its sleeve regarding the technology.

This can't happen with the rumored 3D face recognition tech that was supposed to replace Touch ID, however, as it is needed for authentication from the get go, and Apple has run into trouble making it work with the high degree of accuracy required. Still, the source is optimistic that this one will be perfected until launch, plus they think that Apple still has a chance of shipping the iPhone 8 with the tricky in-display finger scanner that will take the load off the 3D face recognition tech as a complementing affair.

Last but not least, there is the problem with the new bright OLED display that allows for the alleged all-screen format of the iPhone 8's front. Samsung is supplying all of those, but it needs to ramp up production in the millions with the required quality of manufacturing, and the effort is still going on, apparently. Thus, the iPhone 8 may face a perfect storm of hardware and software quirks that need to be ironed out in a very short amount of time, so when the dust from the fall announcement settles, we may still be some time off from the full production schedule of the unique OLED iPhone. Oh, well, at the rumored $1000-$1200 starting price, depending on whose source you believe, there may not be many millions lining up for the all-screen iPhone from the very start anyway.

source: FC