Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said back in March that he expected the iPhone Fold to have Touch ID on the side button rather than using Face ID. He has today reiterated this.
While there have been some suggestions that Apple might use an in-display ultrasonic Touch ID sensor, Kuo says this is “unlikely” …
iPhone Fold
The iPhone Fold is expected to launch next year as the new flagship model. Pricing is expected to be around $2,000.
We’re expecting a 5.5-inch external display and a 7.8-inch unfolded internal display. This would effectively combine an iPhone and an iPad mini in one device.
Apple has taken a very long time to develop a folding iPhone, in what is a fairly extreme version of the company’s best-not-first policy. Samsung first launched a foldable phone seven years earlier.
Apple is said to have waited until it was possible to virtually eliminate a visible crease in the unfolded screen. Display partner Samsung was reported to have done this to Apple’s satisfaction back in February.
The wisdom of Apple’s delayed launch was shown when Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold phone proved such a disaster that the company had to withdraw review models and cancel customer orders. Even four generations later, the Galaxy Fold was still extremely vulnerable to being damaged by dust being trapped inside the fold.
With Touch ID on the side button
Although it might seem surprising for Apple to use Touch ID instead of the Face ID it uses in all modern iPhones, the problem is the depth of the TrueDepth scanning module required. The iPhone Fold is expected to be only around 4.5mm thick when unfolded, which is less than the depth of the Face ID module.
Cost is likely to be another consideration, as Apple would need to have twin scanners, one for the external screen and another for the internal one. A single Touch ID sensor on a button is far more cost effective.
Apple holds patents for embedding both Touch ID and Face ID into the display, and some had hoped that this would be possible for the iPhone Fold. However, while Kuo does not entirely rule this out, he says in a tweet that he considers it unlikely.
Six months ago, I predicted the foldable iPhone would use side-button Touch ID. There are now market rumors that it will adopt an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, but I think that’s unlikely. It’s expected that Luxshare ICT will supply the side-button Touch ID module.
Again, given the need for Touch ID in both folded and unfolded configurations, he is very likely to be right about this.
The iPhone Fold will already require twin selfie cameras, one on the outside, the other on the inside. Two rear cameras will be available in both folded and unfolded forms.
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