iPhone XS with an in-display fingerprint sensor? Don’t get your hopes up

Apple’s iPhone XS is going to incorporate cutting-edge technology, but one of the future-forward features that you’re unlikely to see on September 12 is an in-screen fingerprint sensor.

There’s been more hope than credible rumors that in-screen fingerprint technology would come to the iPhone XS, and that hope has been dashed by Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, according to 9to5mac

The reason for its absence? It may be in large part thanks to the success that Face ID has had on the iPhone X. And Apple seems to be doubling down on facial scanning tech given iPad Pro 2018 rumors ahead of next week’s Apple event. 

Reading glasses 

It’s impossible to deny the hype that in-display fingerprint sensors carry for all-screen phones in 2018. However, for the time being, it looks like it will come to a very limited number of Android phones, like the Vivo Nex and the Xiaomi Mi 8.

Whether or not this will change in the future remains to be seen. Samsung, which has reportedly struggled to get the technology into the Galaxy S9, S9 Plus and Note 9, is expected to debut an an in-screen fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S10 next year. 

Apple may change its stance if implementing biometric sensors in high-end OLED panels becomes easier. Of course, the company is pretty big on the ‘simplicity’ angle that its devices capitalize on, so FaceID may just be Apple’s de facto biometrics method, at least for the iPhone XS this year.

Bill Thomas

Bill Thomas (Twitter) is TechRadar's computing editor. They are fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but they just happen to be a satanist. If you need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don't be afraid to drop them a line on Twitter or through email.