The Eternal End Of Touch ID? Apple Plans For The Biometric Security Method Scrapped

Biometric identification methods have become synonymous with modern smartphones and tablets. Apple first introduced Touch ID with the iPhone 5S and the iPad Air 2 – making most devices significantly safer during a time when many users still relied on a clumsy four-digit passcode. Since the release of the iPhone X, the fingerprint sensor has shifted further and further into the background. The iPad Pro and most iPhones have long since transitioned to the new Face ID standard. Despite speculation over the last few years that Face ID could eventually make a comeback, leaker Mark Gurman is sharing some further information concerning the matter.

Gurman – Apple Testing Double Solution
Customers who prefer Touch ID have two options: They can either acquire an older model of the current devices or go for an iPhone SE – unfortunately, accepting significant limitations compared to the high-end models in this process. Some users still hope that Apple will give the technology another chance even without the home button. For example, Apple could integrate Touch ID within the display, as in many Android smartphones, where the necessary fingerprint sensors are housed under the display panel. According to the current edition of Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter, Apple has already tested such a dual system. The company may even be interested in providing the standby button with Touch ID capabilities, similar to the method already chosen for the iPad Air and iPad mini.





Top Models Continue To Go Without Touch ID
Unfortunately, Apple's internal tests didn't achieve the desired results. As per Gurman, Apple no longer believes that Touch ID will be possible in its flagship models for the foreseeable future as things stand currently. The leaker does, however, indicate that the Touch ID sensor will likely find itself built into the standby button of the iPhone SE soon – and that this implementation method would omit the simultaneous presence of Face ID. Concrete plans for the implementation remain unknown to Gurman, and his estimation is the same as that made by his colleague (Ming-Chi Kuo) earlier this year in March. Kuo reported that Touch ID would not be making a comeback in either 2024 or 2023 – with a later combat held for equally unlikely.