Apple Reviving Touch ID?

[Gegger]

Well, it appears that the famed Touch ID is making a comeback in the next set of Apple phones.

 

Apple seems to be readying up with full-screen Touch ID from the no. of patents that have been filed recently. Quote from International Business Times:

Quote

The first patent which was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office is billed "Methods of biometric imaging of input surfaces." This is simply explained as an acoustic imaging system that can be applied on the whole surface of a smart gadget. The technology basically uses a combination of acoustic transducers to vibrate a surface which is said to effectively turn the whole screen into a fingerprint reader.

The second patent is the "Acoustic imaging system for spatial demodulation of acoustic waves." The technology works similarly with the first patent but is differentiated via its transducer placement. It is described as two sets of transducers that are positioned strategically in contact with the screen. The first transducer sends the signal when something gets in contact with the surface while the other interprets the signals.

One of the main problems with Touch ID is the need for a physical button or some other thing to read fingerprints, thus flawing the "sleek look" that many love. Apple hopes to fix this by turning the entire display into a fingerprint reader.

 

My opinion:

I think that this is a nice idea, especially if you are in a situation where you don't want to take your phone out and stare at it because it's impolite or something. It's not like I use an Apple phone, but I know plenty of people that use iPhones that a longing for Touch ID back. What I really want is something new as a form of authentication, something that's never been done yet.

 

Sources:

https://www.ibtimes.com/apple-reviving-touch-id-tim-cooks-firm-reportedly-mulling-display-fingerprint-reader-2789085

https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/04/30/full-screen-touch-id-could-come-to-the-iphone-with-acoustic-fingerprint-imaging

[Froody129]

If they can get this working well it would be awesome. Face ID is pretty cool, but the speed and accuracy of Touch ID is great, except for the current inconvenience of needing a button. 

[DrMacintosh]

Apple has historically filed many patents that they have never used. No reason to believe that this is any different. 

 

Apple is clearly all in on FaceID and I don’t see TouchID coming back as the primary authentication method on Apple Devices. Not without a design language shift. 

[ne0tic]

I really hope they will add in-screen Touch-ID since I don’t even like FaceID that much... Also if I remember correctly Apple have had patents for in-display TouchID since all the way back in 2015 so it seems kinda unlikely that they would add it now. Though if the 2019 iPhones are as boring as the leaks says then in-display TouchID would probably help Apple sell the iPhones easier since I believe TouchID in the screen is a big selling point! 

[RejZoR]

I was skeptical about FaceID, but after using it for a week I find it really good. Only downside of it is if you have phone flat on a table you need to move your face above it to unlock. But for all other situations, it was actually really good. Would be nice if TouchID was still an option though so user can decide between both, not Apple...

[79wjd]

Touch ID that works everywhere on the screen at least as good as FaceID, if not as good as traditional TouchID, would be a really nice improvement. Although FaceID is still quite good, it only really fails in bright sunlight (when you're being washed out) -- which is obviously a problem if you're mostly in that environment, but most people aren't.

[RejZoR]

I didn't have any problems with FaceID in pitch black or very sunny. Not summer yet, but it was blindingly sunny and it worked. Will see how it'll be through summer...

[Techstorm970]

9 hours ago, Froody129 said:

If they can get this working well it would be awesome. Face ID is pretty cool, but the speed and accuracy of Touch ID is great, except for the current inconvenience of needing a button. 

Face ID is almost instantaneous in my family's experience.  We also found the Touch ID to be finicky at times (especially me).

[bcredeur97]

After living with an iPhone X since launch day, I still rather touch ID. Just a personal preference thing if im honest. FaceID doesn't bother me a ton, but I just rather the fingerprint reader.

I do like what others have commented here -- there's no reason both can't exist! FaceID has some application usage beyond just user identity too! Like I believe someone made an app that measures IPD for your eyes so you know how to perfectly set a VR headset. stuff like that is great!

Something like this where basically the whole phone is a fingerprint sensor sounds amazing to me though.