Iris Scanning Coming To iPhone, But Not Fast Enough

Apple is rumored to be working on iris scanning technology for a future iPhone device, but it may not arrive soon enough to keep the company at the top of the smartphone market.

DigiTimes cites unnamed sources in reporting that Apple is aiming to bring iris scanning to a new mobile device in 2018; meanwhile, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a strong record in Apple predictions, has suggested that the technology will arrive as early as next year, in a new iPhone sporting a more substantial redesign than the most recent few iterations. Still, even a 2017 debut of the technology will likely put Apple behind Samsung, which plans to introduce iris scanning on its forthcoming Galaxy Note7 device; and Microsoft’s Lumia 950 smartphones already sport the feature.

As for this year’s new iPhone, rumor has it that it will be called the ‘iPhone 6SE’, suggesting that it will be pitched as an upgrade or blend of the iPhone 6 and the lower-priced iPhone SE released earlier this year—in other words, not a substantially upgraded device.

Apple’s incremental approach to iPhone upgrades now has some analysts predicting its decline from the top of the premium smartphone pyramid. Brokerage BCG, for example, is predicting a drop in the company’s share price, and advising clients to sell their stocks, asserting that “Apple has peaked under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook.”

Apple is expected to announce its 2016 iPhone device at an event during the week of September 12th.

Sources: 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, CNBC