Apple’s iPhone 14 is now in the latter stages of its development ahead of a Q4 2022 release date. And one of its biggest changes will relate to FACE ID…
If you don’t like the notch on your iPhone – a thing that has been present since the iPhone X – then the iPhone 14 might just be the update you’ve been waiting for. According to the latest info, Apple’s 2022 iPhone will not feature a notch.
This “leak” comes from Twitter via a guy called Dylan. It’s a leak, so, of course, it isn’t to be taken at face value. However, it does jazz with what Apple Sage Ming Chi-Kuo has been saying about Apple ditching the notch on – some – of its iPhone 14 models.
How Will FACE ID on a Notch-Less iPhone 14 Work?
The technology that makes FACE ID work isn’t going anywhere, it is merely migrating under the display. On the iPhone 13, for instance, all of FACE ID’s tech lived inside the camera. With the iPhone 14, Apple’s not changing anything too much, other than the design and layout.
The iPhone 14 will use a pill-shaped front-facing camera with all the usual TouchID sensors hidden beneath the display. This is not a novel solution, though, nor an original one – this is how Android phones have done things for years. Apple just loved the notch too much.
The bad news – and there’s always bad news when you’re talking about new iPhones and Apple – is that ONLY the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will benefit from this new FACE ID setup. The cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Mini (if there even is one) will use the same notch like the iPhone 13.
Why does Apple do this? The main reason is that Apple makes four (or three if the Mini gets the chop in 2022) models. It needs a way of making people cough up their money for the more expensive models. And if cameras don’t do it for you, then not having to stare at an ugly notch might. That’s the basic logic behind how Apple thinks in a nutshell.
The Return of TouchID Too?
Another tantalizing rumor from the great Apple Sage, Kuo, suggests that Apple is keen on bringing back TouchID on the iPhone 14?
The reason for this is that we now live in a world where billions of people wear masks every day. This causes problems for FACE ID, as it needs to scan your face. By including an additional TouchID sensor, Apple gets around having to figure out how to scan your face with a mask with FACE ID.
Again, this isn’t gospel. Not just yet, anyway. But given how things are going with COVID – we’re two years deep with no end in sight – adding in an additional biometric like TouchID makes a lot of sense from a user experience point of view. How many times have you had to enter your passcode on your phone in the last two years?
In other Apple-related news, the same leaker also claims that Apple will do another iPhone SE in 2022, one with 5G that looks more or less exactly the same as the current one (which is based on the iPhone 8’s ancient design). Again, this makes sense too. Both the OG iPhone SE and the iPhone SE 2020 were massively popular. A new 5G SE model is a great idea, especially if the price is nice and low.
And check out Want Face ID On A MacBook? You’re Out Of Luck! And take a look at How To Use Face ID With A Face Mask (The New, EASY Way)!