Digitimes: Initial ‘iPhone 5S’ shipments to be constrained as fingerprint sensors hit low yield-rates

<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2013/06/21/apple-patent-application-describes-fingerprint-sensor-tech-rumored-for-iphone-5s/">Apple fingerprint sensor patent</a>

Digitimes, which is notorious for its mixed track record, is out with a new report claiming that initial shipments of Apple’s next-generation iPhone will be in tight supply. The reason being low yield rates for the production of the sensor for the device’s rumored fingerprint scanning technology. That’s in addition to some chips required to power the new iPhone’s LCD.

Poor yields of fingerprint-recognition chips and LCD driver ICs will likely force Apple to reduce first-quarter shipments of the rumored iPhone 5S, which is slated for launch in September 2013, according to industry sources. Volume production of fingerprint-recognition and LCD driver chips for the iPhone 5S should have started at the end of June or early in July, but issues related to yield rates will delay commercial production of the two chips to the end of July, therefore affecting the initial supply of the iPhone 5S, the sources explained.

Furthermore, the site says that production of said device’s sensors should have begun late last month or earlier this month, but production won’t actually begin until later this month. This in turn will affect initial shipments of the new iPhone come September. Digitimes says this will result in 3 million delayed units…

Of course, as Apple CEO Tim Cook has noted on multiple occasions, Apple’s plans are difficult to pinpoint based on supply-chain chatter. This is because, as Cook framed, Apple uses several suppliers and manufacturing partners, so perhaps an issue with one supplier will amount to zero public-facing issues. Apple is known to be diverse in its part suppliers so issues (like the rumored) do not occur. 

The new iPhone will likely be encased in the same design as the iPhone 5, feature an improved camera sensor, a dual-LED flash, and perhaps a new slow-motion camera feature. This is in addition to the rumored finger-print sensor. Chatter for this feature hit new highs when Apple acquired Authentec last year.