Apple could re-enter Touch ID in a new form

Although it has been replaced by the high-tech alternative called Face ID, the Touch ID fingerprint authentication has not lost its followers, leaving far the most convenient and fast way to unlock iPhone phones when it's available.

Eliminated to make room for a larger screen, the Home button with an integrated fingerprint sensor left quite a few dissatisfied users suddenly forced to abandon the reflex gesture that unlocked the iPhone.

Even if he does not return to the form he has consecrated, the Touch ID sensor may still be present on future iPhone models, integrated this time under the screen. Deployment options are multiple, starting with a sensor developed by Synaptics, which uses infrared light to analyze the user's fingerprint, up to an advanced version of the integrated capacitive sensor with the Home key, able to operate under the screen style shield. But according to revelations made by sources close to the company, Apple is considering a whole new technology based on ultrasound.

Developed by Qualcomm, the new biometric sensor would offer comparable accuracy, or better than traditional biometric sensors. Moreover, the ultrasound system will also be able to operate with fingers wet or covered with oily substances.

Perhaps the most accurate type of fingerprint sensor, the ultrasound reader is the most expensive solution available today. However, its takeover should not have an impact on the price of the iPhone X, which is already at a level well above the cost of manufacturing.