iPhone 8 May Sport 3D Laser Scanner for Facial Recognition Feature: Report

There has been no scarcity on iPhone leaks, and the latest points out that Apple may ditch Touch ID to replace it with a 3D facial recognition feature. Another report separately hints that Apple may give wireless charging a miss this year, and the iPhone models in 2018 may come with wireless charging support.

The latest tip comes from JP Morgan analyst Rod Hall who corroborating earlier leaks claims that the iPhone 8 will ditch the home button for a full-screen design, and do away with Touch ID completely. Hall adds that iPhone 8 may sport a front 3D laser tech for facial recognition.

Apple iPhone 8 Specifications, Release Date, and More - Leaks and Rumours So Far

The analyst however confesses that new facial recognition tech may increase the bill of materials cost for iPhone 8 by roughly $10-15. Hall however adds that facial recognition adoption may increase Apple Pay adoption among consumers which were still not happy with reliability of Touch ID.

"One obvious and potentially most compelling use would be AR/VR experiences in which the user's hands and other real world objects are being scanned and integrated into a field of view provided by the iPhone mounted into a Google Daydream-like headset. This would open up many interesting entertainment and gaming experiences not available today and might give Apple something extra in an AR/VR accessory compared to Google and others," Hall said (via MacRumors) in a note.

Additionally, another JP Morgan analyst Harlan Sur in a separate note claimed that Apple is working with Broadcom to come up with a customised wireless charging technology. Sur adds that Apple and Broadcom have been working on a solution for roughly two years now. Sur contradicting to recent reports claims that Apple's iPhone 8 may not support wireless charging. Instead, Sur says that Apple may use the feature in next year's iteration citing the Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco.

"We believe the glass back cover is conducive to wireless charging as it reduces signal interference versus a metal casing. It is possible for Apple to add proprietary features such as fast charging or extended charging to differentiate itself from the pack and enhance the value of its own hardware ecosystem," CNBC quotes Sur.

In a recent development, Apple joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) - an industry group behind wireless charging standards. This move testified to Apple's rumoured plans of introducing wireless charging with the iPhone 8 - a feature that has been leaked several times in the past.

Bloomberg reports that Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry) shares have showed signs of optimism touching a decade-high on the eve of Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone launch this year.

Finally, 9to5Mac has [dissected] Ming-Chi Kuo's last note to investors and has speculated on the pixel density and Retina scaling used on the iPhone 8. Kuo said the iPhone 8 would have a 5.8-inch display with a 2800x1242 pixels resolution that fits in a 4.7-inch iPhone frame. The display is also tipped to sport a 'function area', making the actual display resolution 2436x1125 pixels. All this is being translated to a pixel density of 521ppi (the highest yet on an iPhone) and 3x Retina scaling to help iOS elements match pixels.