Will in-screen Touch ID come to the iPhone 13? Here’s all we’ve heard suggesting it will – and some rumors saying it won’t.
One of the most exciting rumors we’ve heard about the upcoming iPhone 13 is a feature Android phones have had for years: an in-screen fingerprint sensor. So how likely is Apple’s next flagship phone to get it? We’ve heard so many rumors that Touch ID is coming back to iPhones that it feels like a question of when, not if. But it could be coming in 2022 or later, as a couple other predictions suggest. Apple switched away from fingerprint sensors in its flagship phones when it introduced the iPhone X in November 2017, and its priciest phones have relied solely on facial recognition since. While Face ID has been very accurate and dependable for unlocking and secure authentication for apps, users have wanted an alternate method for years – a murmur which rose to a clamor in 2020 as widespread mask usage obscured its use. While Apple did release a ‘fix ’ for the issue in iOS 14.5 – using a paired Apple Watch to unlock your iPhone – it was barely a half-measure, since it doesn’t authenticate for app functionality and requires a pricey wearable, too. In-screen Touch ID wouldn’t just be helpful in the current still-masked climate, but is just genuinely useful when facial recognition is too awkward. Don’t take our word for it – ask any Android user, or the many iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 owners who aren’t upgrading because they don’t want to lose Touch ID. Given the persistent demand for an in-screen fingerprint sensor in a new flagship iPhone, how likely is it to arrive in the iPhone 13? Granted, we’ve been hearing rumors that iPhones will get in-screen Touch ID for years, including one in September 2019 saying the iPhone 12 would get the feature – but even that leak suggested it could come in the 2021 phones (aka the iPhone 13) instead.
