Time and again it has been rumored that iPhone 5S will feature a fingerprint sensor. Apple itself hasn’t even hinted at that possibility as yet, but the rumor mill is abuzz with such rumors. It has been said more than a couple of times that poor fingerprint sensor yield rates might cause supplies to be constrained at launch. A new rumor claims that since there are issues slowing down production of said fingerprint sensor, Apple might only be able to ship 4 million units of the iPhone 5S this quarter. 4 million might seem like an enormous figure, but for a new Apple smartphone that’s hotly anticipated, such low supply can’t possibly meet demand.
As per the rumor, circulated by none other than the infamous Digitimes publication, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was to manufacture the fingerprint sensor for iPhone 5S in May, but apparently those plans were delayed due to integration issues between iOS 7 and the sensor. It is expected that volume production of the sensor will begin by August, whereby allowing Apple to produce some 30 million iPhone 5S units in Q4, 2013. To put things in perspective, let us look at the sales figures for iPhone 5 immediately after launch. Apple released iPhone 5 on September 21 2012, with only nine days to go till the end of Q3, 2012. In those nine days, Apple sold six million iPhone 5 units, five million units were sold in the first three days alone. This should give you an idea of the demand that Apple faces immediately after launch, that too in select markets where the new smartphone is initially made available. Rumor has it that Apple will unveil iPhone 5S on September 10th, it remains to be seen when the company releases it in select markets. Even if the release comes on September 21, just like last year, Apple will presumably have to divide four million units among different markets so as to cater to the immense initial demand.
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