How? Simple: the iPhone 8 – as multiple rumours have suggested since way back in 2014 – will feature a new type of display technology that will let Apple build TouchID directly into the display.
That’s right: all you’ll have to do is rest your thumb or finger on the display itself to take a fingerprint reading. This move will allow Apple to design an iPhone with an all-display frontage.
Xiaomi recently did this, so this is basically what an all-display phone looks like:
The INS and OUTS of how Apple has achieved this have been leaked in a patent filing that illustrates how Apple’s new invisible TouchID sensor will function.
The new screen tech will “use a micro light emitting diode (LED) in an active matrix display to emit light and a sensing IR diode to sense light.”
In Layman’s terms: the screen will display information like a normal display but it will also react to a person’s touch.
And if that wasn’t enough it is also believed the iPhone 8’s magical new display will be able to take readings of your fingerprint even when the display is off, saving screen-on time and conserving your battery.
Fancy.
More Sensors Coming To iPhone 8
Beyond TouchID, this technology opens up a myriad of options for integrating a plethora of sensors into the iPhone 8’s display. Sensors for things like a Retina Scanner and other cool things most people never even imagined using on a phone.
“Apple’s new micro LED touchscreens could incorporate a different pixel arrangement than what you’d used to seeing in a phone,” notes BGR.
“An interactive pixels subpixel arrangement would consist of red, green, blue, IR emitting, and IR sensing LEDs, or RGBIRSIR. The result would be a high-resolution display capable of performing tasks that do not require showing images.”
However – This ISN’T Apple’s Tech
Nope – Apple acquired the company, LuxVue, that developed it way back in 2014. This is when all the rumours about iPhones without Home buttons started. See, rumours are great.
Apple is also said to be actively testing holographic iPhone screens for future iPhone models.
How these will work is pretty bonkers, but you can read all about it in these patent filings.
For a more detailed breakdown of Apple’s iPhone 8, be sure to check out our extensive iPhone 8 feature, which covers everything from specs, to design and new hardware.
