All of next year’s iPhones could have Face ID

Face ID (Apple’s advanced facial recognition system) is debuting this year on the iPhone X, and is exclusive to that top-end handset, but next year it could be a feature of every new iPhone.

According to well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, Apple will abandon its Touch ID fingerprint scanner completely, in favor of the Face ID system, allowing Apple to capitalize on the lead it has with the technology.

This shift would also allow for all 2018 iPhone models to sport an iPhone X-like design, with a screen-filled front, suggesting that there may not be another premium model that stands out above the other iPhones.

It’s been rumored in the past that Apple is working on a fingerprint scanner that could be built into the screen, but it sounds as though Kuo doesn’t believe this work will continue.

Leaving fingerprints in the past

Apple’s push for Face ID could also impact Android phone development, with Kuo suggesting that Android devices makers will also look to move on from fingerprint scanners.

And as for the iPad? In an earlier note Kuo also said that 2018’s iPad Pro models will get Face ID. So if he’s right it sounds like fans of fingerprint scanners soon won’t have much choice but to adapt.

However, Samsung is thought to be working on an in-screen fingerprint scanner, possibly set to debut on the Galaxy Note 9, so if that works and catches on then there could be hope for fingerprints yet.