12/16
The moment Apple unveiled this year’s iPad Air, I fixated on its newly designed Touch ID power button. Here's what I said about it in my retrospective on the "It's About Time" event it launched at:
...that Touch ID power button looks like a robust piece of hardware and I can't help but wonder if we'll see it on other Apple devices in the future. It looks like it could even fit on the side of a phone, as long as the edge is wide enough. Rumors have pointed to Apple re-introducing Touch ID on the iPhones for 2-factor biometric authentication—could Apple's approach be to completely ignore an under display fingerprint reader in favor of a power button one?
It's clear that Apple has continued to work on Touch ID since removing it from flagship iPhones. They have several patents for under-display Touch ID. They also have some for adding it to the Apple Watch—in the side button and integrating it into the digital crown. While patents aren't a confirmation that a product is coming, it does show a continued interest in Touch ID.
Beyond patents, Apple recently sent out a survey to customers which included questions about Face ID—seemingly to gauge satisfaction with it. Apple also sent out a survey asking about power adapters earlier this year. Now, iPhones don't ship with power adapters. They're not just asking these questions for fun.
Lastly, popular leaker, Jon Prosser, recently said on his show, Front Page Tech, that there are two prototypes with under display Touch ID right now. Love him or hate him, Prosser's accuracy is high (79%) as a leaker.
Why am I bringing all of this up? As the title suggests, I'm convinced Touch ID will return to the iPhone soon; there's a little too much smoke for me to ignore. I think we'll see it in two forms, split across the Pro divide.
The button-based approach seems destined for other, cheaper Apple devices—a future iPhone SE, the Apple Watch, and the baseline iPad and iPad Mini eventually. While I wouldn't call the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini "cheap" devices they are the entry level devices in their place in Apple's portfolio (flagship iPhone). Using a Touch ID power button solution will allow those prices to remain the same and avoid the outrage its omission would cause if its sister Pro phones included it.
Alternatively, an under display Touch ID solution, would give Apple some much needed differentiation for its Pro devices, especially in a year where the non-Pro iPhone 12 and iPad Air aggressively closed the gap. This version of Touch ID would be reserved for the 2021 iPhones Pro and likely find its way into a future iPad Pro, unless the cost of scaling it up is too expensive. Combined with a very likely 120hz-capable LTPO display, Apple could offer customers two strong reasons to consider a Pro 2021 iPhone.