The fingerprint is no longer popular at Apple. The famous iPhone manufacturer, which almost got rid of its Touch ID technology with the advent of the iPhone X, is not likely to reintroduce its biometric unlocking solution on its home phones anytime soon.
No feedback from Touch ID
Mark Gurman, one of the best-informed sources on the Apple brand, states in his latest newsletter: “At this point, I think Face ID is here to stay and Touch ID won’t be coming back to iPhones in the near future.” This assertion comes to shower the hopes of those who hoped to see this technology return to future iPhones.
Long replaced by the Face ID tool, which relies on facial recognition mechanisms, Touch ID is becoming increasingly rare on Apple mobile devices. The latest iPhones to be equipped with them are the iPhone 8. Some iPads also continue to embed the fingerprint sensor behind their central buttons, but the manufacturer does not make much progress in its technology, to the chagrin of customers who prefer unlocking via fingerprint rather than facial recognition.
Apple takes its time
Indeed, if Face ID technology has improved considerably over time, it remains fallible on certain points. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the system had shown its limits, being difficult to recognize faces wearing a surgical mask (this has now been corrected). Apple aficionados had therefore taken to dreaming of a return of Touch ID with a sensor under the screen, as do many Android phones. Rumors even suggested that such technology could arrive on the iPhones of 2025 or that Apple could move the fingerprint sensor to the on/off button of its devices.
Unfortunately, according to Mark Gurman, none of these solutions would be considered by Apple. The company would indeed have tested these possibilities before giving up. Perhaps the company is waiting for the in-screen fingerprint sensors to be absolutely flawless from a security and efficiency standpoint before launching, but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. iPhone owners who want to review Touch ID will have to be patient.