Touch ID could be offered alongside Face ID

Aug 5, 2019 09:55 GMT  ·  By

Apple could bring back the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to the iPhone with the 2021 generation, according to a recent analyst report.

Basically, Ming-Chi Kuo, who is one of the most reliable Apple analysts worldwide, says the 2021 iPhone could include both Touch ID and Face ID, as the company will manage to resolve the challenges of offering such a duo in the next 18 months.

The Touch ID sensor would be placed under the screen, much like on the Samsung Galaxy S10, but the plan appears to be unifying the experience with facial and fingerprint recognition for extra convenience and added security.

As per 9to5mac, Apple has a series of issues to tackle before it’s able to give the go-ahead to this model, including “power consumption, size of the sensing area, thickness of the sensing module, and the production yield rate of the lamination process.”

Fingerprint sensor on the Apple Watch

Kuo says the company estimates everything would be ready in one year and a half, and this means that Apple can get finalize the whole project in time for the 2021 iPhone.

Given the partnership with Qualcomm, Apple will most likely use an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor developed by the San Diego-based firm. Apple and Qualcomm recently settled their legal dispute, and their licensing agreement will bring us the first iPhone with 5G support next year.

If Apple decides to go this route and bring back the fingerprint sensor, similar technology could be used on other devices as well, including the Apple Watch. Kuo says a fingerprint sensor placed under the screen of the watch is one of the ideas that Apple is currently considering, as implementing a Face ID module would obviously compromise the available screen estate.

Remember that everything is still in the rumor stage right now, and given we’re still away from the debut of the 2020 iPhone it’s better to take such info with a healthy dose of skepticism for the time being.