Rumor: Apple will put fingerprint scanner behind iPhone screen next year

According to a new rumor, Apple will put a fingerprint scanner behind the screen of one model iPhone next year. That technology must then be in all new iPhones the following year. The fingerprint scanner makes Face ID and the notch in the screen redundant.

The front camera would work behind the screen, so that the notch is no longer necessary, MyDrivers writes based on a report by the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple would develop the technology itself. It is unknown what type of fingerprint scanner behind the screen is involved. Many Android phones have an optical scanner, a small camera that looks through the screen. The Galaxy S10 has an ultrasonic scanner. It is safer, but more difficult to implement.

Next year there will be one model without a notch in the screen, but by 2021 all new iPhones without a notch and Face ID will work, reports China Times based on a report by analysts at Credit Suisse. Apple has not responded to the rumours. The notch and Face ID debuted in late 2017 with the release of the iPhone X.

According to the analysts, the iPhones that Apple wants to present in September all have the same notch in the screen as the current XS and XS Max. In addition to a front camera, the notch contains the components of the TrueDepth camera system, such as a flood light, dot projector and infrared camera. In addition to Face ID, iOS also uses the system for avatars that mimic the user’s facial movements, which Apple calls Animojis.