Apple’s Touch ID is still used by its customers who recently purchased an iPhone SE (2022). However, it could be the last model to use the secure biometric authentication technology introduced with the iPhone 5s in 2013. The problematic Touch ID system, which was integrated directly into the all-important home button, was reliable in terms of accuracy, but had its own characteristics. its fair share of durability issues as it was a moving button until Apple replaced it with a static home button on the iPhone 7. The technology was then bypassed by the introduction of Face ID on Apple’s iPhone of its new gesture-based software interface. Now it looks like Apple is finally done with Touch ID and it won’t appear on any future iPhone.
First reported by MacRumors, a post on Weibo by an “integrated security expert” claims that Apple has disabled most of the original equipment it used to build chips for its iPhone Touch ID modules. It is also stated that only a few machines have been left running to supply modules for the recent iPhone SE (2022) models, which still use the static home button with the integrated Touch ID system. This indicates that Apple has no immediate plans to revive the technology used in its older iPhone models.
Apple is yet to update its latest iPhone SE model, which remains the most affordable iPhone in some countries, including India. The smartphone was released in 2022 and will receive an update soon as it offers little value in the real world apart from the Apple logo on the back.
According to the rumor mill, the next iPhone SE (currently tagged as the iPhone SE 4) would have a refreshed design (resembling an iPhone 14 and more). A newer design would be a good departure from the rounded and super-slim designs of previous iPhone models and would also see the old home button being completely ditched from Apple’s iPhone lineup.
Apple is still expected to keep a single rear camera module with the upcoming iPhone SE 4, but it’s expected to be a high-resolution device that will hopefully get some hybrid digital zoom capabilities. Older reports also indicate that Apple might add the recently introduced Action Button to the new iPhone SE as well.
As for Touch ID on Apple’s Macs and MacBooks, it’s business as usual as we are yet to see Apple’s first laptop with the built-in Face ID authentication system, even though Apple has adopted a display notch on its new and recently launched MacBooks . Besides iPhones, Face ID is currently only available on Apple’s iPad Pro tablet models (as of 2018).