Apple won't bring Touch ID to the iPhone 16 according to a new report

If you'd been hoping that Apple would bring Touch ID to the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro in 2024, it looks increasingly likely that you are going to be left disappointed. That's what we're learning today if a new report by MacRumors is anything to go by.

The report cites an integrated circuit expert who has posted to the Chinese social network Weibo with information about Apple's plans moving forward into the next 12 months. MacRumors says that this leaker has a track record for sharing information about Apple's future plans, but it's always important that we take these kinds of leaks with a pinch of salt. However, a good track record isn't for nothing.

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In terms of this report, the post says that most of the equipment used to manufacture the chips required for an iPhone's Touch ID system has been permanently shut down, suggesting that there won't be the capacity to bring Touch ID to an iPhone any time soon. The only remaining units are currently used to produce the Touch ID hardware that is used in the iPhone SE, suggesting that Face ID is going to be the iPhone's biometric security system for a good while yet.

This comes following various reports that Apple intends to bring an under-display Touch ID sensor to the iPhone in or around 2026, following on from the many Android phone makers that already do something similar. But Apple could theoretically follow the approach it took to the iPad mini and iPad Air by putting the Touch ID sensor in the power button instead.