Touch ID could make a comeback with the iPhone 13, helping to tackle tricky biometrics in the era of COVID-19 and wearing masks.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which claimed that “two former Apple employees” said Apple is considering giving the next iPhone both Face ID and Touch ID. Such a change would be a departure from the Face ID only iPhones that started with the 2017 iPhone X and is a feature in the current iPhone 12 range.
But this doesn’t mean we return to the thick bottom bezel where the fingerprint sensor used to live in handsets like the iPhone 8. Instead, Apple will reportedly switch to an on-screen fingerprint reader.
That’s a feature that has been present on high-end Android devices for the past few years, but has yet to appear on everything with iOS. Interestingly, Apple may not be following Samsung in using Qualcomm’s super-fast ultrasonic fingerprint detection technology seen on the Samsung Galaxy S21.
While Qualcomm declined the WSJ’s request for comment, a former Apple employee said the company had worked with optical sensors instead, due to their perceived reliability over ultrasonic technology. An Apple patent from last year outlined how an optical sensor can detect fingerprints placed anywhere on the screen.
The source did stress that any in-screen fingerprint sensor should meet Touch ID security standards, as implemented on the iPhone SE, select iPads, and select MacBooks.
The gist of the piece overall is that most of the iPhone 13’s new and exciting features can already be seen on Samsung’s excellent Galaxy S21 range, including a 120Hz display (which will likely be called ‘ProMotion’, like on the iPad Pro) and maybe some sort of ultra zoom camera. However, the periscope zoom camera may not be available for this year’s iPhone 13.
While Apple could follow in Samsung’s footsteps, the above features would provide a host of upgrades to the iPhone range. Considering the iPhone 12 Pro Max is already our top pick for the best phones you can get right now, these rumors promise that upgrades will bring another great Apple smartphone.