Apple’s next iPhone could ditch the traditional home button for a capacitive sensor capable of detecting the amount of pressure with which it’s pressed, according to AppleInsider.
Citing industry rumors, particularly those coming from financial services firm Cowen and Company, the report suggests that the iPhone 7, which is widely expected to be launched this autumn, will finally do away with physical home buttons, and will feature ‘Force Touch ID’—a reference to both the Touch ID fingerprint scanning system that has pioneered consumer mobile fingerprint biometrics, and the pressure-sensitive capabilities of its 3D Touch sensor system, which was originally rumored to be called Force Touch.
The rumors of a 3D Touch-Touch ID integration go as far back as this past winter, when a patent filing depicted such a system. Meanwhile, a patent recently granted to Apple describes a system in which the iPhone’s fingerprint sensor would be embedded into the touchscreen itself—though it isn’t clear that the capacitive sensor rumored for the iPhone 7 will actually be included in the display.
Also rumored for the new iPhone are an OLED display, curved screen components, and more sophisticated haptic feedback that could be channeled through the capacitive home button.
Source: AppleInsider
(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)
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