Issues with facial recognition sensors to delay iPhone X

Apple is facing production delays to its top-of-the-line iPhone X due to problems with the 3-D sensor manufacturing process, according to a series of news reports.

Makers of the components, used in facial recognition, are struggling to reach adequate production levels, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the process.

The delay relates to the assembly of equipment used to project the 30,000 infrared dots onto a user’s face to map its characteristics, the Wall Street Journal reported, also citing unidentified people.

Assembly of the dot projector is carried out by LG Innotek and Sharp, the Journal reported, adding that one person said the process is now running smoothly.

The delays may have been a contributing factor in a decision by Apple to ask suppliers to withhold some shipments for iPhone X devices, as reported by Digitimes earlier this week.

The suppliers were asked to send just 40% of the parts initially ordered, the Taipei-based publication wrote, citing unidentified Taiwan-based suppliers.

Apple had already faced delays due to the new display technology, made of organic light-emitting diodes.

Oled panels are made by just a handful of factories largely owned by Samsung Display, making it harder to supply the technology in adequate quantities, sources told Bloomberg in April.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment. The 3-D scanner is the iPhone X’s flagship innovation, allowing the handset to be unlocked just by glancing at it rather than requiring a fingerprint or unlock code.

Along with a wider, sharper screen, it’s a key differentiator from the next model down, the iPhone 8, which was announced concurrently earlier this month.

Apple has staggered the delivery of the iPhone X, which will become available on November 3, six weeks after the lower-specification iPhone 8.

While Apple has said it took the delayed release into account when forecasting its revenue for the three months through September, many analysts have assumed that demand for the top-of-the-range handset would carry over into the December quarter.

The reports on production delays don’t make it clear whether Apple had already taken the sensor setbacks into account when it forecast sales for the current quarter.