2020 or 2021 iPhone could bring back Touch ID but in-display this time

Although initially rumored for the iPhone X, it appears that Apple is working on an in-display fingerprint authentication system after all. When the iPhone X launched with Face ID, Apple SVP of Hardware Engineering batted down the in-display biometric authentication rumors saying at the time Apple was all-in on Face ID. However, a fresh patent has emerged showing that Apple is indeed working on the technology and it could be headed to an iPhone in either 2020 or 2021.

While a number of Android makers initially copied Apple’s notorious notch, company’s like Vivo quickly started working to eliminate notches from displays almost as quickly as the trend emerged. Since the Vivo NEX debuted with its pop-up selfie camera, a number of similar pop-up or slide out designs have hit the market offering truly all-screen displays. Apple’s notch, of course, includes its Face ID 3D facial biometric authentication technology (not just a selfie camera) meaning that its notch is now quite large in comparison to its competitor’s approaches.

Apple has typically kept its iPhone designs essentially unchanged for around 3 years at a time. This means if it was to drop Face ID for a new 3D Touch ID solution embedded within a display, it wouldn’t turn up until at least 2020 or 2021. To compensate for the potential loss of Face ID from the iPhone, an in-display fingerprint reader would be the best way to achieve a truly all-display design while retaining security. What that means for a selfie camera on a future iPhone will be interesting to see. Could it end up under the display of a future iPhone as well?