Future Apple iPhone may be equipped with under-screen Touch ID and Face ID modules at the same time
At the beginning of this year, Apple was found to have applied for a new patent called “Fingerprint Sensing under the Display Based on Off-axis Angle Light”. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office details that the patent will use light instead of ultrasonic vibration to sense fingerprints. Insiders believe that this under-screen fingerprint scanning technology developed for the new generation of iPhone may appear in the iPhone 13 or iPhone 14 series.
Compared with some Android phones that use optical fingerprint sensors for unlocking and identity verification, Apple’s system that captures off-axis angle light can not only read fingerprint information more effectively but also maintains the compactness of the entire sensing system. The light collected off-axis will be bent with the help of the grating layer, and the image sensor will convert the light into electrical signals for authentication.
Under the severe background of the global new coronavirus epidemic, wearing masks has become the norm. Many users hope that future iPhone phones can be equipped with Touch ID and Face ID modules at the same time, which will be more convenient to use. According to the Wccftech report, Apple not only develops the fingerprint scanning technology under the screen but also intends to integrate the Face ID module under the screen. This means that the future iPhone will have a true full screen, no grooves, and no punches.
According to Apple, an optical imaging array is positioned behind a display and is oriented to receive light transmitted through the display in a direction generally opposite that of light emitted from the display. The optical imaging array can be used by the electronic device for any suitable imaging, sensing, or data aggregation purpose including, but not limited to: ambient light sensing; proximity sensing; depth sensing; receiving structured light; optical communication; proximity sensing; biometric imaging (e.g., fingerprint imaging, iris imaging, facial recognition, and so on); and the like.
