Don’t expect Touch ID on the iPhone 15

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Industry analysts thought the iPhone 15 might bring back Touch ID to the flagship iPhones. A new rumor says Apple is in no hurry to bring Touch ID back.

Speaking in his weekly Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman answers the question, “Will Touch ID make a comeback next year on the iPhone 15?”

In his response, Gurman notes that “Touch ID won’t be returning to flagship iPhones — at least anytime in the foreseeable future.”

That’s disappointing, but it does mean one thing. That Apple feels Face ID is safe, user-friendly, and enough for their security needs.

We knew Apple was at least playing with under-screen fingerprint readers to enable Touch ID. Earlier analyst reports thought 2023, the year of the iPhone 15 release, would be the earliest Apple would use the new tech.

A more recent report from veteran industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the under-screen Touch ID sensor was delayed in development. He thought now it would be available in 2025 at the earliest.

Apple already has Touch ID on some iPads, with the sensor in the power button. They could have brought that to the flagship iPhones.

Maybe some design reason stopped them, like the thickness of the iPhone meant the sensor couldn’t be large enough.

The iPhone SE still has Touch ID via the Home button at the bottom of the screen. That’s an inelegant solution, and one Apple won’t be bringing to the flagship iPhone range again.

Gurman also suggested that Touch ID on the iPhone SE might be on the power button in the future. That was based on speculation, however, and not any insider information.

It seems that fans of Touch ID either have to buy the budget iPhone or live without it. It won’t be coming to the iPhone 15, and probably not the iPhone 16, either.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.