The Apple iPhone 13 could include an optical fingerprint sensor on the screen

Apple is working on on-screen fingerprint technology for the iPhone 13, a feature that would be available alongside Face ID as a secondary biometric option, according to The Wall Street JournalJoanna Stern. Stern shared the news in a piece about the features of the Samsung Galaxy S21 that could be incorporated into next-generation iPhones.

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

According to Stern, he learned of a former employee who said the company was working with optical sensors for reading fingerprints on the screen, which “may be more reliable” than an ultrasound solution.

Fingerprint sensors on the optical display work with light, and on Android phones that have adopted this technology, the screen is illuminated with a fingerprint icon where you want to place a finger to provide light and a camera creates a finger image. Optical sensors can be easy to fool because they use a 2D image.

Fingerprint sensors are a newer technology and use small sound waves to create a 3D map of a fingerprint, a safer solution that doesn’t get easily fooled and works best when your fingers are wet. However, fingerprint detection technology by ultrasound is much more expensive.

The “Touch ID” home buttons that Apple has used on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac are capacitive. Capacitive sensors use a series of tiny capacitors to create a fingerprint data map that is hard to fool, as it does not use a direct fingerprint image.

It is worth noting that hybrid capacitive optical sensors exist, so if Apple includes 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 will use a standard optical sensor, but an optical-capacitive hybrid would combine the advantages of fast scanning of the optical sensor with the security of a capacitive sensor, and this system could not be easily fooled. .

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

Although Stern’s source says Apple is working on optical technology, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will use ultrasound technology. He said the GIS will provide “ultrasonic detection of large surfaces” to Apple, and Qualcomm will provide an ultrasonic module and a lamination. For what it’s worth, Apple has also patented the “acoustic” Touch ID functionality, which would work on the screen.

Regardless of implementation, the return of the “Touch 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 additional layer of security. So far, we have no confirmed rumors claiming that this is a technology that will definitely reach the next generation iPhones, nor is it clear that all 2021 iPhones would get the technology, especially if a more expensive ultrasonic solution is used.