According to a recent tweet by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he claims that his previous prediction of an in-display Touch ID coming to the 2023 iPhone may no longer be accurate. He now says that the feature might even skip the 2024 iPhone, and given how we keep hearing about how the feature has been pushed back, at this point we should really stop hoping for it.
I previously predicted iPhones would support under-display fingerprint sensing/Touch ID in 2023 at the earliest. But the latest survey indicates new iPhones in 2023 & 2024 may not adopt under-display Touch ID. Face ID with a mask on iPhone is already a great biometrics solution.
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 30, 2022
Kuo suggests that maybe Apple including mask support for Face ID in the latest iOS 15 update could be the reason why the feature is being pushed back. One of the reasons fingerprints are more convenient is that you don’t have to look at the phone to unlock it, and with many people still wearing masks these days, it would allow users an alternative way to unlock their iPhones.
In any case, Apple still does use its Touch ID feature in other products like its Macs and some lower-end iPads, but we wouldn’t be surprised if eventually the company shifted over fully to Face ID.