Apple’s iPhone 13 may have an optical fingerprint sensor in the display

Apple is working on in-screen fingerprint technology for the iPhone 13, a feature that would be available alongside Face ID as a secondary biometric option, according to The Wall Street Journal‘s Joanna Stern. Stern shared the tidbit in a piece about the Samsung Galaxy S21 features that can be integrated into the next generation of iPhones.

We’ve heard several other rumors about in-display Touch ID functionality from trusted sources such as Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and BloombergMark Gurman, both of whom have said this is a feature Apple is considering adding to the new iPhones. A secondary “Touch ID” option would be useful in situations where Face ID is not optimal, such as when wearing a face mask.

According to Stern, she heard from a former employee who said the company was working with optical sensors for reading fingerprints on the screen, which “could be more reliable” than an ultrasonic solution.

Optical in-display fingerprint sensors work with light, and in Android phones that use this technology, the screen lights up with a fingerprint icon where you have to place a finger to illuminate, and a camera takes an image of your finger. Optical sensors can easily be fooled because they use a 2D image.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are a newer technology and use small sound waves to create a 3D map of a fingerprint, a safer solution that cannot be easily fooled, and one that works better when the fingers are wet. However, ultrasonic fingerprint detection technology is much more expensive.

The ‌Touch ID‌ home buttons that Apple has used in the iPhone, iPad and Macs are capacitive. Capacitive sensors use a series of tiny capacitors to create a fingerprint data card that is difficult to fool because it doesn’t use a straight fingerprint image.

It’s worth noting that optical-capacitive hybrid sensors do exist, so if Apple opts for an optical solution, the ‌Touch ID‌ functionality is not necessarily as insecure as some optical sensors used by Android manufacturers. In fact, it’s very unlikely that Apple would use a standard optical sensor, but an optical-capacitive hybrid would combine the fast scanning benefits of the optical sensor with the security of a capacitive sensor, and this system couldn’t be easily fooled . .

Stern says that according to her source, whatever solution Apple decides to use must meet the security standards of the current ‌Touch ID‌ Home button, so there will be no downgrade in functionality.

Although Stern’s source says Apple is working on optical technology, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will use ultrasound technology. He has said that GIS will provide Apple with “large-area sensing ultrasonic” technology, with Qualcomm providing an ultrasonic module and lamination. For what it’s worth, Apple also has proprietary “acoustic” Touch ID functionality, which would work in-display.

Regardless of the implementation, the return of ‌Touch ID zou to the ‌iPhone‌ would be welcome, as it would provide more authentication options for unlocking the ‌iPhone situaties in various situations, as well as an extra layer of security. So far, we have no confirmed rumors that this is a technology that is definitely coming to the next generation of iPhones, nor is it clear that all iPhones would get the technology before 2021, especially if a more expensive ultrasonic solution is used.