Apple’s iPhone 13 may feature an optical fingerprint sensor on the display

Apple is working on iPhone 13 screen fingerprint technology, a feature that would be available alongside Face ID as a secondary biometric option, according to Wall Street Newspaperit’s Joanna Stern. Stern shared the detail in an article about the features of the Samsung Galaxy S21 that could be incorporated into next-generation iPhones.

We heard several other rumors about Touch ID functionality on the display from trusted sources, such as Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and BloombergMark Gurman, both said this is a feature that Apple is considering adding to new iPhones. A secondary option “Touch ID” would be useful for situations where the facial ID is not ideal, such as when using a face mask.

According to Stern, she heard from a former employee who said the company was working with optical sensors to read fingerprints on the screen, which “can be more reliable” than an ultrasonic solution.

Optical fingerprint sensors on the display work using light, and on Android phones that have adopted this technology, the screen lights up with a fingerprint icon where you must place a finger to provide light, and a camera creates an image of your finger. Optical sensors can be easy to deceive because they are using a 2D image.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are a newer technology and use small sound waves to make a 3D map of a fingerprint, a safer solution that is not easily fooled and that works best when your fingers are wet. Ultrasonic fingerprint detection technology is much more expensive, however.

The initial “Touch ID” buttons that Apple used on the iPhone, iPad and Macs are capacitive. Capacitive sensors use a series of small capacitors to create a fingerprint data map that is difficult to fool as it does not use a straight fingerprint image.

It is important to note that there are hybrid capacitive optical sensors, so if Apple opts for an optical solution, the ‌Touch ID‌ functionality will not necessarily be as insecure as some optical sensors used by Android manufacturers. In fact, it is very unlikely that Apple would use a standard optical sensor, but an optical-capacitive hybrid would combine the benefits of fast scanning the optical sensor with the safety of a capacitive sensor, and this system would not be able to be easily fooled.

Stern says that, according to his source, any solution that Apple decides to adopt will have to meet the security standards of its current Home button ‌Touch ID so, so there will be no downgrade of functionality.

Although Stern’s source says Apple is working on optical technology, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will use ultrasonic technology. He said GIS will provide “wide area ultrasonic detection” technology to Apple, with Qualcomm providing an ultrasonic module and lamination. For what it’s worth, Apple also patented the “acoustic” Touch ID feature, which would work on the display.

Regardless of the implementation, the return of the ouchTouch ID‌ to the ‌iPhone‌ would be welcome, as it would provide more authentication options to unlock the ‌iPhone‌ in different situations, as well as an extra layer of security. So far, we have no confirmed rumors that this is a technology that is definitely coming to next generation iPhones, nor is it clear that all 2021 iPhones would receive the technology, especially if a more expensive ultrasonic solution is employed.