Analyst says 2021 iPhones to feature in-display fingerprint biometrics and Face ID

Touch ID fingerprint recognition will be returning to iPhones in under-display form in 2021, joining Face ID as native biometrics for the popular smartphone, a respected industry analyst says, according to 9To5Mac.

TF Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that technical issues holding back the implementation will be resolved over the next 18 months, and that Apple will unify the Touch ID and Face ID experiences. Apple has filed several patents related to or referring to an in-display fingerprint scanner. Challenges remaining include power consumption, sensing area size, module thickness, and the yield rate of the lamination processes, according to the report.

Kuo expects the iPhones to use a Qualcomm ultrasonic under-display fingerprint system, and also suggested that if Apple were to implement biometrics in Apple Watch, it would more likely be an under-display fingerprint scanner than Face ID.

TF Securities also recently published a report from Kuo on the impact of tariffs on Apple, which indicates the company will increase production outside of China as early as next year.

Previous rumors have indicated Apple is working on an iPhone with in-display fingerprint technology, and also that the company is working on enabling fingerprint and facial recognition access to iCloud.

Article Topics

access management  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint authentication  |  identity verification  |  iPhone