Sources reportedly familiar with Apple’s supply chain tell Bloomberg that a new in-display Touch ID fingerprint system is already being tested for inclusion in an iPhone model as soon as 2020.
A Thursday report from Bloomberg says unnamed sources tell them the Touch ID sensors being tested are located under the display of the iPhone, rather than previous iPhones that have the sensor located in the Home Button.
Bloomberg’s sources tell them the new technology is intended for 2020 iPhone. However, the sources tell the publication that the technology could slip to a 2021 iPhone model instead.
Apple has been reportedly working on in-display Touch ID for quite awhile now. Patents related to the technology were revealed back in February. Another patent was revealed in April.
Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in August that in-display Touch ID would be coming to the iPhone in either 2020 or 2021.
The Touch ID system isn’t expected to replace Face ID, but instead it would work in-tandem with the front camera-based face recognition technology.
Bloomberg says Apple’s suppliers have yet to manage mass-production of the in-display touch technology, even though smartphones from other companies, Samsung included, already offer equivalent tech.
The Bloomberg report also repeats recent claims that Apple would release a lower-cost iPhone next year.