Apple is one of the brands that popularized the use of fingerprint scanners on smartphones. However, currently, Apple’s flagship products, the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, no longer use this biometric sensor. The reason? On older models of the firm, the Touch ID was positioned on the home button. However, on newer models (except on the iPhone SE 2020), this button no longer exists.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple is saying goodbye to the Touch ID. The firm could very well follow the example of the manufacturers of Android smartphones and integrate the fingerprint scanner on the screen on its next models. Rumors have already suggested this on several occasions.
And if for the moment, Apple has not yet indicated whether it wants to use the fingerprint scanners integrated into the screen, we at least know that the engineers of the firm have already thought about it. Indeed, as the news site Apple Insider reports in an article published this July, the US patent office recently published two Apple patents that are related to this technology. In addition, the firm’s previous patents were already linked to this technology.
A technology that is already used by smartphones running Android
Of course, for the moment, these patents do not allow us to say that Apple will integrate a Touch ID on the screens of its next models. Nevertheless, the intellectual properties of the firm provide an idea of the technologies that are being explored by its researchers.
As a reminder, currently, Apple’s flagship products that no longer have a fingerprint scanner use facial recognition. If this system can be very practical, it also has its limitations. For example, currently, wearing a mask forces iPhone users to unlock their devices by entering a password. And Apple had to update the iOS code in order for its operating system to adapt to this situation.
After presenting the new iOS 14 at the WWDC conference, Apple will unveil its next iPhone before the end of the year. The main innovation should be 5G modems. Indeed, Apple has put an end to the conflict which opposed it to Qualcomm in order to be able to source from this supplier of components for smartphones. But it’s likely that the Cupertino firm has other great surprises in store for its fans.
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