Global shipments of in-screen fingerprint sensors (FoD) grew nearly eightfold in 2019, according to data from technology market research firm Omdia.
Shipments of FoD sensors in 2019 were 228.3 million, up 674 percent from 29.5 million in 2018, Omdia said, adding that with FoD sensors having reached the market's pricing sweet spot, FoD shipments are expected to continue to rise at a huge rate, expanding to over 400 million in 2020.
When Apple introduced Face ID in the 2017 iPhone X, Apple stopped using the capacitive Touch ID sensor in its flagship iPhone and dropped the Home button.
Since then, Apple has been pushing Face ID, adding it to every flagship iPhone since then and even to the iPad Pro.
Meanwhile, most other smartphone brands have adopted in-screen fingerprint scanners as an advanced biometric technology to replace capacitive fingerprint chips. According to Omdia, there are more than 70 smartphones with FoD integration in 2019.
Although Apple has decided to abandon the technology in favor of face recognition, rumors continue that the company intends to use off-screen fingerprint scanners in mobile devices.
Just last month, we heard a report that Apple may be using the technology in the 2021 iPhone, and an anonymous leaker with a fairly accurate track record says Apple is developing a new iPad Air with off-screen fingerprint recognition.
These rumors also match the claims made last year by Ming-Hoe Kuo, Barclays analysts, Bloomberg, and others who expect Apple to release an iPhone with in-screen fingerprint authentication by 2020 or 2021.
Apple has explored various in-screen fingerprint scanner solutions in the past, including fingerprint-sensing MicrOLED displays, but has yet to develop in-screen fingerprint technology for consumer devices. Meanwhile, Touch ID has found new life in Apple's MacBook keyboard and the latest generation iPhone SE.
Rumor has it that Apple is working to gradually reduce the size of the notch that houses the TrueDepth sensor, which drives Face ID functionality, most likely a biometric authentication system that combines face and finger sensing technology to make future full-screen devices with unmatched mobile security.
