Apple 13 iPhone could feature Optical In-Display Fingerprint Sensor

Apple is working on in-screen fingerprint technology for the iPhone 13, a feature that would be available right next to Face ID as a secondary biometric option, according to The Wall Street JournalJoanna Stern. Stern shared the tidbit in a piece looking at Samsung Galaxy S21 features that could be rolled out to next-generation iPhones.

We’ve heard several other rumors about Touch ID inbound activity from reputable sources like Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloombergit’s Mark Gurman, who has both said this is a feature that Apple is considering adding to the new iPhones. The ouchTouch ID‌ high school option would be useful for situations where Face ID is not preferred, such as when wearing a face mask.

According to Stern, she heard from a former employee who said the company was working with optical sensors for internal fingerprint reading, which could be “more reliable” than an ultrasonic solution .

Optical in-display fingerprint sensors work using light, and in Android phones that have embraced this technology, the screen lights up with a fingerprint image where you plan to place a finger. to provide light, and a camera creates an image of your finger. . Optical sensors can be easily fooled because they use a 2D image.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are a newer technology and use small sound waves to make a 3D map of fingerprints, a more secure solution that is not easily fooled, and one that works better when fingers are wet. Ultrasonic fingerprint sensing technology is much more expensive, however.

The ‌Touch ID‌ home buttons that Apple has used in the iPhone, iPad, and Macs, are capacitive. Capacitive sensors use a series of tiny devices to create a fingerprint data map that is difficult to deceive because it does not use a direct fingerprint image.

It is worth noting that there are optical-capacitive hybrid sensors, so if Apple goes with an optical solution, the ‌Touch ID goireas feature may not be as insecure as some optical sensors that Android manufacturers will have. using. Of course, it is very likely that Apple would use a standard optical sensor, but an optical-capacitive hybrid would combine the advantages of fast scanning of the optical sensor with capacitive sensor security, and this system would not be able to be fooled. easily. .

Stern says that, according to its source, whatever solution Apple decides to adopt, it must meet the security standards of its custom ouchTouch ID‌ Home button, so there will be no downside in functionality.

While a Stern source says Apple is working on optical technology, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple is going to use ultrasonic technology. GIS is said to provide Apple with “super-area ultrasonic sensing” technology, with Qualcomm providing ultrasonic modeling and lamination. For what it’s worth, Apple has also patented a patented “acoustic” Touch ID, which would work in-house.

Whatever the function, the return of ‌Touch ID‌ to ‌iPhone‌ would be welcomed as it would provide more authentication options for unlocking the ‌iPhone‌ in different situations, as well as an additional layer of security. So far, we have not confirmed rumors that this is a technology that is definitely coming to next generation iPhones, and it is not clear that all 2021 iPhones would get the technology, in particular if a more expensive ultrasonic solution is used.