Apple could launch the iPhone 13 this year with Face ID as well as an under-display Touch ID scanner.

The Wall Street Journal‘s Joanna Stern shared in their Galaxy S21 review that Apple is looking to add an optical in-display Touch ID scanner to the iPhone 13 series. The information was revealed to her by a former Apple employee who said the optical scanner could be more “more reliable” than an ultrasonic sensor. Samsung is the only company to use an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner on its flagship devices with other OEMs relying on an optical scanner which is faster albeit less secure.

Irrespective of what technology Apple decides to go for the under-display Touch ID, it must meet the same security standards as the existing Touch ID scanner found on the iPhone SE. The company is not going to compromise on the security aspect in any way.

Apple reported Mark Gurman for Bloomberg had also reported earlier this month that Apple is testing an in-screen Touch ID solution for the 2021 iPhone 13 series.

While not mentioned, another alternative could be Apple integrating the Touch ID scanner into the side key on the iPhone 13 series. The company has already done something similar with the new iPad Air in which the Touch ID scanner is integrated into the Sleep/wake button.

While Android OEMs have adopted in-screen fingerprint scanners on their devices, Apple has stuck to Face ID which is a more sophisticated and secure solution. However, Face ID does not work in all scenarios and it has been largely rendered useless during the pandemic. Thus, Apple adding a secondary biometric authentication method to the iPhone lineup would make a lot of sense. It would also be welcomed by a lot of frustrated iPhone users who never really liked Face ID.