Touch ID, Apple’s fingerprint reader, never really went away – you can still find it on an iPad. But on iPhones, it can only be seen on SE (2020) and its rather old design. Contrary to some rumors, the fingerprint reader does not return to the headphones, says Mark Gurman at Bloomberg‘s Power On Newsletter.
The company reportedly tested displays that feature built-in fingerprint readers, but the journalist expressed doubts that this will be the path Apple chooses.
Instead, Face ID will be built into displays of future advanced models like the iPhone 14. Cheaper models can stick to the notch-style face scanning system. All this is, of course, a discussion of future models, the iPhone 13 series coming in September is more or less rocky and will not bring a major redesign.
This is a new iPhone SE for 2022 with 5G connection, but the same iPhone 8-based design with a 4.7 ”LCD and (possibly) a fingerprint reader / home button under it. However, Gurman suggests that the new SE will have Face ID instead, just not the one under display type (which will be reserved for premium models).
Face ID was introduced in 2017 with the iPhone X
Still, when we talk about rumors of changes to iPhone screens, the iPhone 13 family is expected to get Always On mode (says Gurman), inspired by the Apple Watch. The 13 series will have smaller notches and 120 Hz refresh rate, the last part is probably reserved for the Pro models.
It will be the iPhone 14 generation that adds 120 Hz LTPO panels to all family members (note: SE is obviously not part of that family). The mini model is likely to disappear next year, so analysts expect to see two 6.1 ”(vanilla and Pro) units and two 6.7” units (Max and Pro Max).
Ming-Chi Kuo is one of those analysts, and (back in June) he claimed that Apple will use fingerprint readers under display for the 2022 generation. Maybe Apple was not happy with how such a sensor worked during testing, which caused it to change course – there is plenty of time to complete the iPhone designs for next year.
