New patent reveals that Apple could re-introduce Touch ID unlock on iPhones

One of the biggest changes in last year’s **iPhone X** was the fact that it had completely dropped the home button to make room for more screen. In doing so, the iPhone X also let go of the fingerprint scanner as well. The device’s only biometric authentication is the **Face ID** system, which makes a digital 3D map of your face to unlock the device securely. [caption id=“attachment_4183123” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Image: Anirudh Regidi/Tech2[/caption] Now, the recent leaks have all but confirmed that the 2018 iPhone lineup will be following the iPhone X design language, and will similarly come sans the home button. In fact, there are also rumours that Apple is going to drop the home button on the next-gen iPad as well. However, a brand new leaked **Apple** patent reveals that the company might just bring back the old biometric system with a new kind of Touch ID authentication. As per the report by  Patently Apple, the Cupertino tech giant has filed for a patent, which showed an optical image sensor beneath the screen. It looks to be the same technology that Vivo has used in its flagship **NEX** device and also on the X21 smartphone. The patent reveals the device’s cameras placed beneath the display, which are able to capture 3D image data of a fingerprint through the display. We advise you to take this information with a grain of salt as the source is not very reliable. Even if the patent is legitimate, patent applications are no guarantee of a technology being introduced. Having said that, we would love to see Apple use an under-the-display fingerprint reader on its device.