iPhone 11 could turn whole screen into finger scanner with invisible sensor that ‘listens’ to your fingerprint to prove your identity
TOUCH ID could be coming back to the iPhone without the need for a home button as Apple considers turning the entire phone display into a finger print scanner.
This tech would be made possible if Apple could master a process called ‘acoustic imaging’ and would allow for a larger and clearer looking smartphone screen.
Two new patents suggest that Apple is trying to work out how to bring Touch ID back without compromising its trade mark sleek style.
Apple’s beloved Touch ID was replaced with Face ID when the iPhone X series was released and the home button disappeared.
Not only is Face ID said to be more secure than using a finger print but it also facilitated Apple’s desire to have a larger screen that takes up almost the entirety of the front of the device, minus the notch at the top for the camera.
However, Face ID is still flawed and Touch ID has some better qualities such as allowing people to unlock a phone without looking at it or letting people open their phone in a pocket should they need to.
Both patients were approved this week and describe slightly different versions of an ‘acoustic imaging’ system for the surface of a smartphone that can essentially ‘listen’ to your fingerprint by sending out wave signals that can interact with the shape of a fingerprint and remember the pattern of signals that match with the phone owner’s registered print.
The wave signals that are sent out by the phone are reflected by the differing ridges in a person’s fingerprint.
These reflected signals are then collected together in the screen to form a whole image of a fingerprint.
This can the be compared to registered versions of the fingerprint for authentication purposes.
Apple files for multiple patents and applications on a weekly basis so not all of its ideas will be brought to life and we might not see this Touch ID concept on the iPhone 11.
However, Apple has explored this fingerprint tech before so it is definitely something that the company is interested in perfecting.
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Do you think finger print scanners are better than face scanners? Let us know in the comments…
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