Apple is reportedly giving up on facial recognition and instead going with a full-screen fingerprint scanner. This will allegedly allow the company to leave off the “notch” from every iPhone model released in 2021.
Baby steps toward a notch-less iPhone
The iPhone screen cutout will supposedly phased out, with no changes expected this year and just a tweak in 2020.
Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with TF International Securities said in a note to investors today that Apple is working to decrease the size of the notch. To do so, a smaller front-facing camera will be used in one or more of the 2020 iPhone models.
Good-bye iPhone notch in 2021
The real change is reportedly coming the following year. Su Houhe, an analyst with Credit Suisse Securities says the companies that supply iPhone displays are working on full-screen fingerprint scanners, according to the Chinese-language China Times.
These will go into three new iPhone models introduced in 2021, in place of Face ID facial recognition. The use of an under-screen front-facing camera will enable the screen cutout to be removed.
Houhe says the first model without Face ID and this improved version of Touch ID could even launch as early as 2020.
Killing Face ID would be big
This isn’t the first unconfirmed report we’ve heard about Apple making an iPhone with an under-display fingerprint scanner in place of Face ID. But that rumored device is supposedly exclusively for the Chinese market.
To dump Face ID in favor of an improved version of Touch ID would be a sea change for the company. Consider that it’s currently running ads pointing out how much better facial recognition is than fingerprint scanning.
Still, it would enable Apple to make an iPhone with a true edge-to-edge display, with no more notch.
Via MacRumors
