While facial recognition systems in phones aren’t new, Apple’s Face ID feature for the iPhone X seems to hold some potential in terms of being a more accurate and foolproof system. It is unclear if it will indeed work as advertised and if it will be better than Touch ID, but for now it seems that feature could be blamed for the iPhone X’s slow production.In a note to investors by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo as seen by MacRumors, the analyst has suggested that production of the TrueDepth camera (which helps facilitate Face ID) is to blame for hindering the production of the iPhone X. He writes, “TrueDepth camera may be main production bottleneck of iPhone X ramp. The 3D sensing (TrueDepth camera) on iPhone X is composed of a structured-light system, time-of-flight system and a front-facing camera, which represents a far more complex structure than those of rivals. It will therefore be harder to achieve mass production.”
Prior to this we heard that the OLED display could be to blame for the iPhone X’s slow production, as Apple requires the touch panel and the display to be produced separately, whereas Samsung typically produces them together. We’ve also heard that the stainless steel frame could be another issue with production.
Either way the iPhone X is only due in November and earlier reports have claimed that it will be only well into 2018 before we start to see production levels catch up with demand.