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This is probably why the iPhone 12 has been delayed. Midway through the pandemic they realized this virus isn’t going anywhere and Face ID is a huge inconvenience; not to mention health risk since you sometimes have to remove it. Also, the dial pad doesn’t appear fast enough at times.

It’s wishful thinking, but I certainly hope it does make it in as a last minute improvement. Under the screen sonar ID is just not where it needs to be yet, plus a physical Touch ID could be used for 2fa.

If this is a feature on any of the new phones, I'm buying. Otherwise I've no reason to upgrade my XS Max, but Face ID is so useless with the mask on, punching in the code is so freakin annoying and so 2012.
 
Whop-de-doo. Sony had fingerprint sensors on their Xperia phones for at least 5 years. I know, I used to use them and they were wonderful. This is no Apple invention here,
 
Didn’t Motorola and others have this years ago?

The motorolla ones required you to swipe your finger across it and was a bit more cumbersome.

That is why Touch ID was praised when it first came out.
 
I will be interested to see what sort of work around there will be for folks that may be motion or motor skill impaired. For a company that talks about inclusion so much, it seems they really are not interested in anyone impaired or over 50 purchasing or being able to use their products.
 
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With the introduction of the Neural Engine in the iPad Air, Borchers notes that an increase in on-device processing brings more powerful capabilities to iPad and offers a greater level of privacy to users.

The third generation Air had the A12 Bionic which had the Neural Engine. Why are we pretending that this Air is the first one with it when its predecessor had it as well?
 
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I'm pleased to see Justine taking Jenna on as a partner in her videos.
They make such a lovely double act and play off each other really well.
I suspect this has, in some part, got to do with them CV19 isolating together.
Good things can come out of bad circumstances.
Hope they keep the double act partnership going!
 
Apple: “Touch ID power button is a feat of engineering “
Meanwhile, Android OEMs have had fingerprint sensor on power buttons for years, and now it’s actually a cheaper option than under display fingerprint sensor.
 
It’s marketing. It is their job to market their products. Not sure why the trolls are so up in arms over people actually doing their jobs.
 
Fold 2 sounds scrumptious... just saying. If you're implying samsungs are cheap, (walmart remark), look up how much it costs.

That wasn’t a dig towards Samsung, honestly. I happen to like Samsung and all my TVs are made by them, as well as my appliances. And every cell phone I owned before switching to iPhone in 2009 was a Samsung. And no shade to Walmart. I shop there very often.

I was just being a smart ass because of his “Samsung is superior” in an Apple forum. He’s allowed to this opinion, of course. It’s just tiresome and comes across as condescending. Let others enjoy their new quirky Touch ID button.
 
That wasn’t a dig towards Samsung, honestly. I happen to like Samsung and all my TVs are made by them, as well as my appliances. And every cell phone I owned before switching to iPhone in 2009 was a Samsung. And no shade to Walmart. I shop there very often.

I was just being a smart ass because of his “Samsung is superior” in an Apple forum. He’s allowed to this opinion, of course. It’s just tiresome and comes across as condescending. Let others enjoy their new quirky Touch ID button.

I’m impressed you didn’t point out that how much something costs has nothing to do with being it being cheap. Even if that wasn’t your point.
 
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Word on the street is that the difference is that apple’s actually provides a reasonable level of security.
And you have links for that? Besides, smaller sensor inevitably can see only a small part of a finger. The security of such sensor will be worse regardless of who is implementing it. Also, it's not like Apple designs and manufactures their own sensors. Most likely they will use the same sensor everyone else is using. It should be good enough for most people regardless.
 
Fast, secure power button fingerprint scanners have been on the market for years now, this is a weird thing for Apple to pat themselves on the back for.

Hopefully this means it's coming to the upcoming phones though.
 
Given how ridiculous the notch is and the fact that many of us are wearing masks, Face ID has become rather useless and Apple needs to add Touch ID to the 2021 iPhone, either in-display or via side button.

I wouldn't say it has become useless, it's just become less useful. It's still plenty useful when at home or in an environment where you don't need to wear a mask. I'm still thankful for FaceID when I have to do any log in authentication on the phone when I'm not in public. I'm so accustomed to that now, but yeah, having to input my password is a PITA.

I do use an apple watch and find that is great for purchases as there is no need to remove a mask. Worth picking one up if you do need your phone for in store purchases on a regular basis.
 
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I like FaceID but I really would like to have touchID in the power button. FaceId when we are forced to wear masks is a pita to use!
Given the pandemic and mask wearing I think anything but faceid is needed.

You can add a secondary face scan with a lower quarter of your face covered (for example with a piece of paper) and Face ID will work with a mask on. The security will be somewhat lower of course, but I hope still not as low as a fingerprint sensor. There are videos on how to do this on Youtube and I'm using it succesfully.
 


Apple VP of Product Marketing Bob Borchers and VP of Hardware Engineering John Ternus are featured in the latest episode of YouTubers iJustine and Jenna Ezarik's Same Brain podcast where they discuss several aspects of the current iPad lineup and part of the development process that went into the latest fourth-generation iPad Air.


Speaking on the new iPad Air, Borchers says that implementing the Touch ID sensor into the top button in a much smaller form factor was "an incredible feat of engineering." Ternus explains that the narrow aspect ratio of the sensor made it quite challenging to implement. The sensor needed to be "incredibly sensitive" and would have to capture a broader view of the fingerprint in the initial enrollment process and over time.

In the cellular model of the iPad Air, Ternus notes that the top portion of the enclosure is simply the antenna, and much work was conducted to ensure that the Touch ID sensor and antenna didn't interfere with one another since both are highly sensitive instruments. He adds that much "hardcore silicon and engineering" went into ensuring that the sensor could deliver the same level of security offered by its previous iteration.

With the introduction of the Neural Engine in the iPad Air, Borchers notes that an increase in on-device processing brings more powerful capabilities to iPad and offers a greater level of privacy to users.

The current iPad Pro lineup features the A12Z Bionic processor, and notably, the new iPad Air is the first device to implement Apple's latest A14 Bionic processor. Borchers mentions that A12Z is "optimized for pro workflows and experiences, especially those that may be more graphics-intensive." Speaking on the differences between the two, he notes that the A12Z has an advantage on "things that may be more graphically intensive," while the A14 offers "all-around amazing capabilities."

Check out the full nearly 40-minute podcast for more from Borchers and Ternus.

Article Link: New iPad Air's Touch ID Power Button an 'Incredible Feat of Engineering' According to Apple VP

Here's an idea for a new Apple TV that might actually sell. Take a cue from the HD Fury 4K Arcana signal splitting device and offer a model with two HDML ports, one that would connect to TV sets that don't have an eARC port and another with would connect to the Sonos Arc and other soundbars that rely on eARC technology to support Dolby Atmos. When it comes to TV technology the times they are a'changin', and Apple isn't keeping up. Apple ought to be leading the pack but seems clueless about what's going on outside its own walled garden.
 
Would go a long way to developing a phone with nothing but screen on the front.
Which would most likely further reduce the user experience for those crazy consumers like myself who use a case to protect our expensive and fragile glass phone. It’s already difficult enough to swipe from offscreen with my iPhone 8 and rather minimalist case.
 
It sure is great to shrink such a complex biometric chip into a tiny button, and I do hope it doesn’t stop at iPad Air.

This button will be everywhere from now on. New iPad, iPhone maybe even the 2021 Apple Watch.

I could finally let my iPhone 7 go in peace when the new 12 will use this button and skip the whole Face ID lineups.
 
I had a Sony Z5C a few years ago which also had a fingerprint scanner built into the power button. It was definitely a bit finicky though; tended not to work unless you put your thumb in the right spot.

I certainly hope Apple has been able to improve upon Sony’s implementation in the last 5 years.
 
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