Evidence is accumulating each day that 2020 or 21 iPhones will bring the triumphant return of Touch ID – no, not with the return of the Home button, but with a digital reader embedded in the device’s own screen and that will work in full harmony with Face ID. Two of the most respected sources of rumors in the Apple world (Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg) have already corroborated this speculation, and now we have some more details about it.
According to the newspaper Economic Daily News, Apple would be planning meetings with the Taiwanese supplier GIS, dedicated to touchscreens, so that both companies discuss the details about the possible inclusion of the fingerprint reader in the next iPhones.
The idea, according to the report, is to use the new ultrasonic sensor gives Qualcomm, presented today. It uses the same technology already used in the Galaxy S10 and Note10 devices (based on sound waves, not optical readers), but has a much larger area: 30x20mm, about 17x wider than the component present in the last few flagships from Samsung.
That still wouldn’t be enough to deliver an iPhone with the full screen capable of reading digitals, as has been speculated, but the path points to such technology. In addition, the larger sensor allows the device to be unlocked by multiple fingers at the same time and still opens the way for smartphones to detect other aspects of the user’s body, such as blood flow – which would be a great addition to the platform. Apple’s health.
The big challenge now is to convince people that the technology is safe. As is well known, the digital readers of the S10 / Note10 suffered from many reliability problems involving films and “ghost digitals”; the issue has already been corrected, but the idea that ultrasonic sensors represent security holes has been part of the public.
The meeting between Apple and GIS, apparently, will put the supplier in contact with Qualcomm so that the two companies together develop the solution that will be used in the next iPhones. According to the report, however, the plans may be delayed: if the development of technology encounters obstacles, its debut may be for Apple smartphones from 2021, only. We will see.
Snapdragon 865 and 765
Still on Qualcomm, the giant today presented the processor that should equip most of the flagships the Android world in 2020, the Snapdragon 865. Also announced was the Snapdragon 765, intended for intermediate devices and with an obvious advantage over the older brother: integrated 5G radio.
That’s right: for some reason not yet explained, Qualcomm put a 5G modem built only in the least powerful processor between the two announced today. The Snapdragon 865, of course, will have full ability to connect to networks – but manufacturers will have to use a separate modem, the X55 (just like it does today with the Snapdragon 855).
The good news, on the other hand, is that 2020 will be the year in which we will see 5G invade the market, not only in top-of-the-line devices but also in middlemen. Qualcomm did not provide many details about the new processors, but is expected to do so later this week, during its annual Snapdragon Tech Summit. We will keep an eye on the news, of course.
via MacRumors, The Verge
