Under display Touch ID iPhone ruled out for at least the next two years
Although Apple was granted another patent for an under-display fingerprint reader just last month, it's unlikely that the company will bring Touch ID back to the iPhone in the foreseeable future.
Earlier this month, Apple introduced a way to use the Face ID unlocking system with masks, which became ubiquitous during the height of the pandemic. Trusted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had said back in 2021 that Apple could release the first iPhone with under-screen Touch ID in the second half of 2023, but he doesn't see that happening any longer.
The analyst has relayed information that the 2023 and 2024 lineup, which we presume will be called the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16, will likely not feature an in-display fingerprint scanner.
This year's premium models, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, are highly likely to lose the notch. They are instead expected to have a pill-shaped cutout for the front camera and infrared camera, and a hole for the Face ID dot projector.
There is some chatter that Apple will move Face ID under the display next year, but there is still a lot of uncertainty around this. What's more likely is that all models will ditch the notch next year.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern, Apple had tested an in-display Touch ID scanner for at least some iPhone 13 variants but the feature didn't make it to the final versions.
Gurman had previously suggested Apple could reserve in-screen Face ID for the higher-end Pro phones, and keep in-screen Touch ID for the regular models.
This year, we are expecting the company to release four models: The 6.1-inches iPhone 14 Pro and 6.7-inches Pro Max, and the 6.1-inches iPhone 14 and 6.7-inches iPhone 14 Max. The Pros will likely sport the aforementioned pill+hole design, thicker camera bumps with a new sensor, and a faster chip, while the regular models will have the same notched design and a marginally improved chip.
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