Months of iPhone X speculation focused on how Apple planned to handle device security. A rumoured edge-to-edge display meant the Home button would be a goner and, by extension, the Touch ID sensor too.
Would Apple place a fingerprint sensor on the back of the device? Would it build one into the display or would it simply go with the Face ID as a replacement?
Of course, we now know it was the latter, and Apple says no other option was ever on the table.
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In an interview with TechCrunch, Apple hardware engineer Dan Riccio says the rumours Apple failed to succeed with an in-display fingerprint sensor are wide of the mark.
He said: “I heard some rumor [that] we couldn’t get Touch ID to work through the glass so we had to remove that.”
A better solution?
Riccio says once Apple determined Face ID could be a “better solution” it went all-in on Face ID and did not consider other options.
He added: “When we hit early line of sight on getting Face ID to be [as] good as it was, we knew that if we could be successful we could enable the product that we wanted to go off and do and if that’s true it could be something that we could burn the bridges and be all in with. This is assuming it was a better solution. And that’s what we did.
“So we spent no time looking at fingerprints on the back or through the glass or on the side because if we did those things, which would be a last-minute change, they would be a distraction relative to enabling the more important thing that we were trying to achieve, which was Face ID done in a high-quality way.”
The iPhone X is available to buy on Friday, with pre-orders commencing last week. It’s not clear yet how widely available the device will be on launch day, following reports of shortages.
Will you be lining up outside the Apple Store on Friday? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
