Sure, the iPhone 8 will be irresistible with an all-screen design and OLED display panel but new reports said the device will be hard to find following its predicted release date this 2017. And take note Apple fans, the Touch ID fingerprint sensor is in great danger of getting ditched.

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If long-time Apple watcher Ming-chi Kuo is to be believed, and he has previously issued accurate predictions on upcoming iPhones and iPads, the next iPhone will debut plagued by severe supply shortages and caused by lingering production difficulties. The worst case scenario painted by the KGI Securities analyst - the iPhone 8, the most premium of the three models that Apple is rumored to launch this year, will not arrive until November 2017.

And good luck finding a unit as Kuo stressed there won't be enough to go by. Apple is unlikely to meet the expected heavy demand until early 2018.

According to MacRumors, the Touch ID appears to be a solid candidate for Apple axing, meaning the convenient security feature will not be part of the iPhone 8 deal. "Kuo has not mentioned removing Touch ID entirely in previous research notes, but the wording of today's document seems to suggest he believes it's a possibility," the report said.

As the iPhone 8 is widely speculated to boast of an all-glass build and all-screen profile, the device will instead feature virtual control buttons. The Touch ID, for instance, is said to be integrated underneath the front glass panel of the device. Kuo said Apple is struggling to achieve perfection on this respect and the looming alternative is there will be no Touch ID for the iPhone 8.

Or the feature will instead be relocated on the rear panel of the device. But MacRumors said the feature will be dumped altogether "in favor of other biometric systems, like facial recognition."

So what is the chance that Kuo's grim iPhone 8 forecast will come true? Quite high, according to 9to5Google, noting too that "Kuo has been consistent in reporting that Apple is facing difficulties manufacturing the iPhone 8." As early as April this year, the KGI analyst has been saying that Apple's iPhone 8 thrust was plagued by components and production problems.

The latest KGI report though is clear on one thing - the 2017 iPhone model will be introduced as scheduled on September but it's likely only the iPhone 7S series, said to be near-clone of the 2016 versions, will be immediately available. It will be a long wait for those looking to score an iPhone 8, Kuo warned.