Apple developing new class of bio-recognition technologies to replace Touch ID technology
23 Jan 2017
Apple is developing a new class of bio-recognition technologies that would replace existing Touch ID technology with optical fingerprint readers, Apple Insider reported quoting KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
KGI Securities, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Development Financial (CDF), is a market leader in a range of areas of investment, brokerage, proprietary trading and others.
The change could be introduced this year, as Apple, it was widely believed would ring in a full-screen OLED iPhone model this fall.
Touch ID, a capacitive type fingerprint sensing module is based on technology acquired by Apple through the purchase of biometric security specialist AuthenTec in 2012.
In initial iterations of the system, built into iPhone and iPad home buttons, a 500ppi sensor that could scan sub-dermal layers of skin to obtain a three-dimensional map of a fingerprint was used.
The technology was first used in iOS devices in 2013, and was most recently seen in Macs with the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models in October.
The technology works by sending a small electrical charge through a user's finger by way of a stainless steel metal ring. While the fingerprint sensing module was an "under glass" design, the ring needed to be accessible to the user at all times, making the solution unsuitable for inclusion in devices with full-face screens.
Kuo, said, moving forward Apple would introduce optical type fingerprint sensing technology capable of accepting readings through OLED panels without need for capacitive charge components, Apple Insider reported.
