iPhone 13… The Return of Touch ID?*

Could 2021 be the year Apple finally brings back Touch ID? And what else is in store for the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup?

The Apple iPhone 12, released less than four months ago, has become yesterday’s news as rumors of the upcoming iPhone 13 have already begun to circulate on the web. A lot can be said about the new lineup, but there is one “new” feature turning heads.

If you guessed Touch ID (or read the headline), then you’d be correct! However, before I move onto the details, it’s important to emphasize that Touch ID’s return is just a rumor…for now.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a renowned Apple analyst and a reliable source of information for all things Apple, the company will be bringing back the fingerprint unlock; but a home button will not accompany it. Instead, Apple will take a page out of Samsung’s book and use an in-screen optical fingerprint sensor. Apple was recently granted a patent for “Through-Display Optical Transmission, Reception, or Sensing Through Micro-Optic Elements,” which can provide Apple with the technology to engineer an updated fingerprint scanner for its new lineup of iPhones. Kuo also says that Face ID will remain an option.

But wait, there’s more:

Industry sources claim that the upcoming 2021 iPhones will feature a portless design. Yes, you read that correctly; it’s bye-bye lightning port! That means no more frayed cables or tangled headphone cords. The rationale behind this decision could be based on last year’s introduction of MagSafe, Apple’s wireless charging technology. (Basically, it’s like what they did with the exclusion of wired earbuds with the iPhone 11 lineup back in 2019.)

Oh, and one last thing… the iPhone 13 may not be the “iPhone 13.” What does that mean? Apple might return to its old method of naming phones prior to the iPhone 7 lineup. Notable Apple leaker, Jon Prosser, hints that the upcoming iPhone will be known as the iPhone 12s. In the past, the iPhone “s” model meant that the phone features similar to its predecessor — take the iPhone 6 and 6s, for example — with the exception of a few key changes.

Question of the day: Upgrade to an iPhone 12s or wait to see what 2022 has in store? Comment your answers down below!

None of the information in this post has been fully confirmed, as Apple is pretty secretive with yet-to-be-released products.

Blog Post written by Orrick Oriol