However it seems that during the development of the iPhone X, there was a point in time that Apple felt that it was an “impossible” device. This is according to a recent interview that Apple exec Phil Schiller did with T3. Schiller was quoted as saying, “At the time, at the beginning, it seemed almost impossible. Not just almost. It seemed impossible. And to pull off what feels impossible and make it possible – and not only that, but just something we love using – is just a great achievement.”
Schiller also went on to state that creating a top-to-bottom screen for the iPhone with no home button also felt like a gamble that Apple had to commit themselves to. “That’s an exciting moment, when you have to sort of… the old saying: ‘Burn the boats. Leave the past behind, and commit.’ Knowing that the team was willing to make that gamble was a key point early enough in the process.”
There have been some rumors in the past suggesting that Apple was considering an in-display fingerprint sensor for the iPhone X, although Apple has since confirmed that Touch ID was never an option for the iPhone X, and that they had been planning on using Face ID very early on in development.