The iPhone 13 could contain the long-rumoured under-display Touch ID sensor, according to a Twitter account with a solid record on Apple rumours.
Just days after the launch of the iPhone 12, the L0vetodream account sent out a tweet suggesting the biometric security measure may join Face ID in a future flagship iPhone release.
The tweet on Friday simply read: “MESA uts for iPhone.” As 9to5Mac points out, Mesa is Apple’s internal name for Touch ID, while ‘uts’ means ‘under the screen’. The leaker in question may not be a household name, but he has previously supplied information about the HomePod mini, iPhone 12 and Apple Watch Series 6 that turned out to be accurate.
MESA uts for iPhone
Talk of the return of Touch ID, alongside what is a much safer Face ID tech, comes as iPhone users deal with the realities of unlocking their devices while wearing a protective face mask.
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As expected, Face ID-toting iPhones are unable to recognise your face while wearing a mask, so those users have to use their passcode as a back-up. An iOS update earlier this year simplified that process, but it’s still a relative pain point for iPhone users moving forward. The issue doesn’t bother iPhone SE users, because they still have a functioning Home button packing a Touch ID sensor.
Adding Touch ID back to the mix would give users a choice of a biometric options to unlock their phones. Arguably, Apple Pay is much easier to use with Touch ID than Face ID too, even without the need for face masks, so we’d certainly welcome it back to the fray.
One of the reasons Apple initially sacrificed the tech was to make way for a full screen phone. Now the under-display tech has caught up – with many Android phones having already deployed it successfully – Apple could be in a position to bring Touch ID back to the flagship range.
This isn’t the first time the prospected has been rumoured either. Last year a Bloomberg report stated Apple was planning to offer Touch ID in a future release.
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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.
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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.
