A new investor note is out today from Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities. In the note, Kuo explains that it’s likely Apple “won’t repeat” the supply and production struggles it experienced with the iPhone X with the new 2018 iPhone models…
Kuo writes that shipments of the 2018 iPhone models will arrive on time and in stable supply during late Q3 of 2018. He says there will be “no major spec upgrade” of the TrueDepth camera that helps power the Face ID biometric technology, with Apple using the same dot projector and infrared camera.
“We believe the supply of both components are now stable, leaving no need to switch to other solutions,” Kuo writes.
Kuo’s notes that his report contradicts other market expectations that say the 2018 iPhones will adopt a new “hybrid lens (glass and plastics).” Doing this, he writes, would cause more supply chain problems and he believes the 2018 iPhone models “have to hit the market on time.”
Previously Kuo reported that Touch ID was all-but-dead as all 2018 iPhone models would instead move on to Face ID. The analyst explained that 3D sensing would be a “key selling point” of the new devices, noting that any sort of in-screen fingerprinting technology developed would be too expensive.
Kuo has also predicted that the iPad Pro will adopt Face ID in 2018, and today’s report seems to further suggest that being the case. As the key components become more readily available thanks to supply chain improvements, it seems likely that Apple will begin expanding Face ID to the rest of its product lineup.
As for what sort of iPhone X lineup we’ll see in 2018 is unclear. Some reports have suggested that a new, larger 6.4-inch iPhone will join the lineup, but everything should be taken with a massive grain of salt until we get closer to the actual release.
