Leading up to the launch of the so-called iPhone 8, rumors and speculations have been spelling out some bad news.
First off, Apple could slap the next-generation iPhone with a $1,200 starting price. Second, it could delay the release date by an unspecified length because of issues with embedding Touch ID under the screen.
iPhone 8 Price Point Could Be High
Considering that the iPhone 8 is Apple's next flagship, it shouldn't come as a surprise that it's designed to be a premium phone. That said, it's only logical for it to have a premium price too, right?
At least that's what Apple watcher John Gruber of Daring Fireball thinks.
According to him, the iPhone 8 — or as he refers to it, iPhone "Pro" — could start at $1,200.
Here's the gist of his reasoning: Apple could face some production issues with the iPhone 8, and because of that, it'll set a proportionate price. On the other hand, the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will be sold at "expected" prices.
If that doesn't make much sense, here's an analogy that might help:
"In the same way it made sense for Honda and Toyota to create their Acura and Lexus divisions to sell higher-end cars without eroding the value or popularity of their best-selling Accords and Camrys, it makes sense for Apple to create a premium tier for the iPhone, the best-selling product the company has ever made and likely will ever make," Gruber said.
As a refresher, the iPhone 8 is expected to have a couple of new features and upgraded components, including 3D facial-recognition technology, wireless charging support, and an OLED display.
iPhone 8 Launch Could Be Delayed
Apple is said to be having problems with embedding Touch ID under the iPhone 8's screen and making it work as accurately and efficiently as the sensors among the current brood.
"Apple continues to struggle with the workaround for the fingerprint sensor. This increases the potential that the new OLED iPhone could be delayed, or ship without a fingerprint sensor, either of which could increase risk to unit sales and mix for the cycle," Andy Hargreaves, a KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst, says.
Samsung is pretty much in the same boat too with the Galaxy Note 8, which goes to show that this is no easy task. The same applies to Vivo as well, with its noticeably slow under-display fingerprint scanner.
Now Apple's Touch ID woes could be why it plans to scrap the biometric reader, opting for a 3D face scanner instead.
Long story short, the iPhone 8 could start at $1,200, and it could be delayed or shipped without Touch ID.
While these tidbits of news — all right, rumors and speculations — make the iPhone 8 seem like a hard-to-get device, they should be taken with the usual grain of salt. That's because no one can really know what's up until Apple itself says anything official.
