Apple has been steadily moving toward the complete rejection of the classic Home button on the iPhone and iPad, and turning the mechanical key in the touch in the current flagship is only the intermediate stage of this process.
Today Apple received a patent for “ultrasonic fingerprint scanner” – the technology to read the unique pattern of papillary lines in any point of the touch display. The document notes that the company not only plans to abandon separate sensor, but also to make sure that the scanner is fully merged with the display, the user will be easier to work with him.
The iPhone sensor for fingerprinting is in the main Home button. Transfer the fingerprint of the block in the area of the screen will provide additional freedom in the design of the design of the smartphone. The manufacturer can completely abandon physical controls on the front side of the housing.
The patent States that the built-in display of the ultrasonic scanner of fingerprints can be useful for quicker authentication, particularly if the “user’s fingers are wet, dirty or carry pieces of food”. Thus the accuracy of the scan will not influence the force with which the user will put finger on the screen.
The implementation of such features in the gadgets will fulfill a long-held dream of Director for Apple’s design, Jonathan Ive: to release an iPhone with a screen covering the entire front surface of the smartphone. Note that, according to rumors, next year Apple has scheduled a radical change of the appearance of the flagship.
As previously reported, the screen of iPhone 8 may occupy the entire front panel, in this regard, the Home button will be embedded in the display. To supply OLED displays for the new smartphone is likely to be Samsung.
