Report: Touch ID is returning to the iPhone, but Face ID isn’t going anywhere either

Respected TF Industries analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has long been deemed one of the most well-connected sources of information when it comes to Apple’s upcoming product lines. Today Kuo is out with another report—and it’s sure to make fans of Apple’s Touch ID happy (via 9to5Mac).

Kou is predicting that the 2021 iPhones will bring Touch ID back to Apple’s flagship device. However, the iPhone’s current Face ID biometric authentication system will not be going away. Kou says the 2021 iPhones will feature both security measures.

The return of Touch ID is said to take the form as an under-display fingerprint module that will allow users to place their finger anywhere on the iPhone’s display to unlock it. While under-display fingerprint unlocking technology does exist now, there are several issues with it, including rapid battery drain, false positives, and the relatively small size of the sensing area.

Apple is waiting until 2021 to incorporate such under-display fingerprint modules so these issues can be addressed. Kou says that Apple will see its new Touch ID as complimentary to Face ID, and thus include both biometric authentication systems on the iPhone. In a related note, Kou suggests that Apple could even bring its under-display Touch ID to the Apple Watch, giving that device biometric authentication for the first time. However, Kou notes that, for now, that is only his speculation and that he has not seen evidence yet that Apple plans to do so.