14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s upcoming iPhone 13 lineup is likely to bring back Touch ID, according to a new analyst forecast, after the company previously abandoned this feature on its premium iPhone models with the release of iPhone X.
While the Cupertino-based tech giant is betting big on Face ID, with the facial recognition system available on all new iPhones except for iPhone SE, Barclays analysts believe Apple would reintroduce the fingerprint scanner in the fall when the new iPhone 13 lineup goes live.
Of course, Apple wouldn’t just integrate Touch ID into a home button but actually embed the fingerprint scanner in the glass, a solution that several other phone makers have already used, including Samsung.
Touch ID offered alongside Face ID
So in theory, the iPhone 13 could come with both Face ID and Touch ID, with the analysts explaining there’s a chance Apple would bet big on the fingerprint sensor in the long term.
“For the 2H22 product cycle, we anticipate an architectural shift from structured light to time-of-flight, allowing for an even smaller footprint. Based on our industry conversations, we do not think structured light beneath the screen is likely to be ready for mass deployment in 2H22. We also view the adoption of fingerprint-under-glass, that likely is added in the 2H21 iPhones, as a structural headwind for additional 3D sensing content at Apple and could be the security feature of the future,” the analysts have been quoted as saying.
Of course, it’s too early to tell what is going to happen with Face ID, but given the analysts anticipate Touch ID to be “the security feature of the future,” there’s a chance Apple would reconsider its plans at some point in the future and eventually give up on Face ID.
Needless to say, it’s way too early to discuss such an approach, but the next few months should bring more information on Apple’s plan for the iPhone in the long term.