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Apple will launch an iPhone equipped with both Face ID and an on-display fingerprint sensor in 2021, according to a new investor note by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and obtained by MacRumors.

galaxy-s8_security_touch.jpg

Kuo's prediction is based on Apple's patents related to fingerprint on display (FOD) and the continued use of the technology in Android smartphones, which together suggest to him that Apple will opt to bring fingerprint scanning back to its smartphone screens.
In terms of technology, we predict that four critical technical issues of FOD will significantly improve in 12-18 months, including module thickness, sensing area, power consumption, and lamination yield rate. Therefore, we believe that Apple will launch the new iPhone equipped with both Face ID and FOD to enhance security and convenience thanks to the multi-biometrics.
Apple has effaced fingerprint recognition entirely in its flagship smartphone lineup, which includes the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and LCD-based iPhone XR. Chinese mobile vendors meanwhile have gone in the opposite direction and extended the adoption of in-display fingerprint sensing technology from their premium smartphones to mid-range models, where they've proved just as popular.

Apple was widely rumored to be attempting to integrate Touch ID under the display on 2017's iPhone X, but the company ditched any form of fingerprint scanning after hitting "early line of sight" with Face ID. However, Kuo argues that Face ID and FOD technologies are "complementary, not competitive," because multi-biometrics would offer authentication processes in circumstances where one or the other was inconvenient to use or simply unavailable.

Kuo believes that GIS and Qualcomm will benefit from iPhone's adoption of FOD, with the former providing the "large-area sensing ultrasonic" technology and the latter supplying the ultrasonic FOD module and lamination. Kuo also argues that the likelihood of FOD in iPhones will increase if Apple Watch supports a biometric function in the future.

Last month, Chinese media sources claimed Apple intends to launch a new iPhone for the budget-conscious Chinese market that features an under-display fingerprint sensor. However, those reports said the fingerprint scanning would replace rather than augment Face ID technology, which was deemed too expensive.

Barclays analysts also recently claimed that 2020 model iPhones will have acoustic fingerprint technology that could allow for full-screen Touch ID, following meetings with suppliers in Apple's Asian supply chain.

Before these reports, the consensus was that Apple is done with Touch ID in smartphones, despite having explored various in-display fingerprint scanner solutions in the past, including fingerprint sensing MicroLED displays. However, Touch ID has found a new lease of life on laptop keyboards, specifically in Apple's MacBook Pro range and the MacBook Air.

Article Link: Kuo: 2021 iPhone Will Feature Fingerprint-Sensing Display in Addition to Face ID
 
Just a matter of time before Apple re-adopts fingerprint. If Apple wants good security, fingerprint offers it through continuous biometrics authentication. Every time you interact, you're being authenticated. This isn't possible with Face ID - not from a power perspective.

This isn't your grandpa's fingerprint tech. Today, ultrasonic fingerprint sensors can read the capillaries under the finger. The old myth about 1:50,000 odds no longer applies. Reading capillaries also means additional health features.
 
Imagine how boring and unexciting the iPhone 2019 is... all the rumours are for iPhone 2020 and 2021. Nice.

Well, with all the 2020 leaks, this year's iPhone does look uneventful. Many have said they will wait till 2020 when the 5G phones arrive. I am not buying a new iPhone this year and I have bought one every year for the past three.

But it is funny with all the great 2020 leaks, there are now 2021 leaks.
 
Kuo is wrong on this one.

1. It will be Touch-ID instead of FaceID not both, because the whole point of in-screen Touch-ID is that you lose the bezels.
2. It will be 2020, it's ******** that the tech is 12-18 months away when the tech is already here and being used in flagship android phones, it just can use a little bit of improving to get to the point where it's again as good as Touch-ID was in terms of speed and reliability. But that's very much doable for 2020.
 
Well, with all the 2020 leaks, this year's iPhone does look uneventful. Many have said they will wait till 2020 when the 5G phones arrive. I am not buying a new iPhone this year and I have bought one every year for the past three.

But it is funny with all the great 2020 leaks, there are now 2021 leaks.


I think it’s more an analyst prediction rather than leaks
 
Kuo's predictions are as good as a leak.
But the timing sometimes does not align. He says a rumour predicted for 2018, and then he says it will happen 1-2 years later (for example).
 
But the timing sometimes does not align. He says a rumour predicted for 2018, and then he says it will happen 1-2 years later (for example).

He may be off by a quarter or two, but never 1-2 years.

The last thing he was wrong about was AirPower coming in 2018. Can we really blame him for that?
 
He may be off by a quarter or two, but never 1-2 years.
We're speaking for a device/devices that get updated once in a year, not a couple of times. There's no way he can be off by a quarter/two. At least I don't get what you mean.
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Kuo is wrong on this one.

1. It will be Touch-ID instead of FaceID not both, because the whole point of in-screen Touch-ID is that you lose the bezels.
2. It will be 2020, it's ******** that the tech is 12-18 months away when the tech is already here and being used in flagship android phones, it just can use a little bit of improving to get to the point where it's again as good as Touch-ID was in terms of speed and reliability. But that's very much doable for 2020.
Apple's plans are to integrate the fingerprint sensor on ALL over the display, not just one particular place on the bottom. And plus, this rumour probably suggests that by 2021 Apple will have successfully hid the Face ID sensors under the display, which is not impossible, now that there is a phone with a hidden front camera.
 
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I think it’s more an analyst prediction rather than leaks

I think the leaks on this year's iPhone is spot on.

They alwasy have been spot on. These news leaks come out months prior to the release of the iPhone and by the time Cook gets on stage to actually announce the product, there are no surprises.

This year's iPhone, based on what we have seen, is pretty much a dud. Not a knock against the product itself, but outside of a camera, it still doesn't have 5G. If you have last year's phone it's worth saving your money for next year's phone.
 
We're speaking for a device/devices that get updated once in a year, not a couple of times. There's no way he can be off by a quarter/two. At least I don't get what you mean.

Kuo's predictions for iPhone tend to be spot on. I can't think of a time he was wrong about a major iPhone technology. When we move away from iPhone into iPad and MacBook territory, accuracy tends to decrease in terms of predicted launch period.
 
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I think the leaks on this year's iPhone is spot on.

They alwasy have been spot on. These news leaks come out months prior to the release of the iPhone and by the time Cook gets on stage to actually announce the product, there are no surprises.

This year's iPhone, based on what we have seen, is pretty much a dud. Not a knock against the product itself, but outside of a camera, it still doesn't have 5G. If you have last year's phone it's worth saving your money for next year's phone.
There are people who don’t care about 5g who will upgrade from older models. As 5g won’t be in the footprint of many for years and then the plan will surcharge;
 
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