• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Services
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Top Nav Social Icons

Mobile ID World

Mobile ID World

Identification Revolution

IDEMIA banner
  • Mobile ID
    • What Is Mobile ID?
    • Identity Associations
    • Premier Partners
    • FAQ
  • News
  • Solutions
    • Behavioral
    • Facial Recognition
    • Fingerprint Biometrics
    • Iris Biometrics
    • Second Factor
    • Smart Cards
    • Smartphones
    • Vital
    • Voice
    • Wearable Tech
    • Other
  • Applications
    • Access Control
    • Cloud Technology
    • Commerce
    • Enterprise
    • Healthcare
    • Identification
    • Internet of Things
    • Law Enforcement
    • Strong Online Authentication
  • Exclusive
    • Interviews
    • Featured Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Companies
  • Events

Apple Awarded Patent for In-Display Touch ID

December 18, 2019

Apple has been awarded a patent for an optical sensor that could be used for an under-display fingerprint scanner in a future iPhone, and a report from Patently Apple says the same sensor technology is already in use the new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

While previous iPhones with fingerprint scanners used capacitive sensors, this patent calls for an optical sensor, which relies on light from the smartphone’s display to produce a 2D image.

The fingerprint scanners on this year’s 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air are of the capacitive variety, but the 16-inch MacBook Pro is equipped with the kind of optical sensor outlined in the patent, which Apple filed in 2017 and was awarded this week by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In the case of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, however, the sensor is embedded beneath the power button — the same location as the capacitive sensors on the other models.

As the patent explains how this sensor could be embedded under a device’s display:

“An optical image sensor is carried by the housing under the display. The optical image sensor senses biometric image data associated with a user, such as, for example, data representative of a biometric image of the fingerprint patterns of the user’s finger. The controller may perform an authentication function by matching the acquired biometric image data to the stored biometric template data stored in the memory, for example. The controller may perform and/or restrict functionality of the electronic device based upon the authentication.”

Apple used Touch ID for biometric authentication starting with 2013’s iPhone 5S up until the debut of Face ID in the iPhone X in 2017. There is speculation, however, as to whether Apple will bring back Touch ID in under-display form for its future iPhones.

The possibility of having a new form of Touch ID that takes advantage of an under-display fingerprint scanner and Face ID working together for a multimodal form of biometric authentication is one way that Apple may choose to go.

Sources: 9to5Mac, SlashGear, Patently Apple

Filed Under: Featured, Industry NewsTagged With: Apple, Apple patents, Biometric, biometric authentication, biometrics, Face ID, Fingerprint biometrics, in-display Touch ID, Touch ID, under display technology, under-glass fingerprint sensor

Related News & Articles

Onfido Joins FIDO Board of Directors

BMO Harris Bank Embraces Apple Pay Rivals, Including Masterpass

FaceTec Provides Biometric Liveness Detection and Matching to Cynopsis’ Digital Onboarding Platform

Primary Sidebar

Premier Partners

Read the Latest Year in Review Analysis:

FacePhi Selphi

Tweets

BIO-key One plus One

Sponsored Links

FACEPHI is a global leader in Facial Recognition technology and in Mobile Biometrics technologies. With a strong concentration in the financial sector, FacePhi's product is rapidly becoming a service used by banks all over the world. Its implementation doesn’t just save money, it is also a way to attract clients and build loyalty, while increasing the security of transactions for both the customer and the business. To learn more about FacePhi, visit https://www.facephi.com/en/
IDEMIA big box

Events

View All Events

IDEMIA big box

Footer

  • About Us
  • Company Directory
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Archives

Follow Us

Copyright © 2021 MobileIDWorld