iPhone 15 and other flagship models in the series will not get the under-display Touch ID even though Apple has tested it, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has claimed in his weekly newsletter. He further claims that there could be a possibility that the Cupertino-based giant moves the Touch ID to the power button on lower-end iPhones, such as the iPhone SE.
“Over the past few years, there have been discussions within Apple about bringing Touch ID back to high-end iPhones. The company has tested in-screen Touch ID and even contemplated putting it on the power button. At this point, I believe Face ID is here to stay and Touch ID won’t be returning to flagship iPhones—at least anytime in the foreseeable future,” Gurman says. He still mentions that relatively affordable models such as iPhone SE may get a Touch ID embedded in the power button but he hasn’t “heard anything about that actually being in the pipeline.”
This is in line with the claims made by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this year. He cited a survey and said that Apple might not bring the under-display fingerprint sensing/Touch ID technology in 2023 and 2024. “Face ID with a mask on [an] iPhone is already a great biometrics solution.”
It is to be noted that Apple has gradually removed the coveted Touch ID technology in favour of Face ID from iPhone models. Touch ID is only available with a handful of devices, which include the iPhone SE and some iPad models such as the iPad mini 6 and the entry-level iPad.
The company has made the notch that houses the Face ID technology smaller over the years and the new flagship models – the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max – come with a pill-shaped punch-hole cutout. Apple even found an interesting use case and introduced Dynamic Island that expands around the cutout. This virtually hides it and makes the iPhone 14 Pro look different and cooler.
