A report from Ming-Chi Kuo said a few weeks ago that Apple’s first foldable iPhone will be an iPhone Fold-type device that resembles Samsung’s. The handset will be ultra-thin, which is one reason why Apple will have to abandon Face ID and bring back Touch ID.
The fingerprint sensor would be embedded in a side button similar to the iPad and other foldable phones from competitors, including Fold and Flip models.
I said at the time that the lack of Face ID might be a dealbreaker for me, as the 3D face recognition system plays a huge role in my iPhone experience. Face ID does more for me than just unlocking the phone. I use Face ID in every app that supports it, and thanks to iOS, I can also add Face ID support to any app.
Of course, all of that can happen with Touch ID. I just happen to prefer Face ID over Touch ID and would always choose face recognition over fingerprints.
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But what if Apple’s unusual design for the foldable iPhone will actually help it bring Face ID to the handset? I’ve had this idea thanks to an unexpected foldable that launched last week, a device with a quirky design that I think heralds the iPhone Fold design.
What’s unusual about the foldable iPhone’s design?
Leaks that predate Kuo’s claims about the foldable iPhone’s revival of Touch ID say the phone will have an unexpected aspect ratio for a Fold-type foldable. The phone will not be as tall as Samsung’s Fold. Also, it should be wider when folded. The result is an unfolded device that looks more like an iPad mini 7.
I already used ChatGPT to determine the dimensions of a foldable iPhone based on screen size leaks, and it all makes sense.
But considering the thickness factor in Kuo’s report, Face ID might not happen. I explained recently why the iPhone 17 Air’s horizontal camera bar needs to happen. It might be related to Face ID components, which could be thicker than the phone.
If the foldable iPhone is even thinner than the iPhone 17 Air, it won’t have room for Face ID.
Also, there’s another problem. Where do you put the Face ID sensor? On the cover screen or on the inside? The cover screen lets you unlock the device and the apps you use on that display. But you’re likelier to use apps that benefit from Face ID protection on the larger foldable screen.
Meet the Huawei Pura X
Huawei Pura X folded and unfolded. Image source: Huawei
Last week, Huawei unveiled the Pura X, a device unlike any other foldable. If anything, the Pura X (seen above) teases the iPhone Fold design.
The Pura X folds into a phone about as big as a clamshell foldable. Think Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6. But when it unfolds, you get a tablet experience similar to the Galaxy Z Fold. That’s because this Flip-type device is wider than others. Put differently, You can look at the Pura X as a Fold-type device much shorter than the Galaxy Z Fold.
How does this design help Apple put Face ID on the foldable iPhone? Check out the horizontal camera bar of the Pura X. That’s the phone’s main camera system, which sits on top of the cover screen when the phone is folded, acting as a more advanced selfie camera system than your usual selfie cam.
Unfold the Pura X, and that camera system can be used both vertically and horizontally, depending on how you hold the foldable.
What interests me here is the Pura X’s main camera system always pointing at your face when you take the phone out to use it. If the iPhone Fold has a similar design, it could have an identical main camera placement.
There’s precedent in other foldables
I’m speculating here, but I think Apple could integrate Face ID components into the camera modules that are usually reserved for the back of the iPhone. With an iPhone Fold similar to the Pura X, that camera module would actually sit on the front. As ugly as that protrusion might be on the Pura X, a similar main camera placement would give the foldable iPhone Face ID support.
All of this is speculation at this point, yes. Also, I’d still have a Face ID problem that needs fixing. Unfold the Pura X, and you get a foldable phone with a hole-punch camera at the top. If that’s how the foldable iPhone looks, you can’t also place Face ID at the top of the foldable iPhone.
Therefore, unlocking apps with the screen unfolded remains a problem.
Back to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6, I’ll tell you that the phone does support face recognition. The system works both with the hole-punch camera and the main camera lens placed atop the cover screen. I’ve used Samsung’s face unlock tech, and it works, even if it’s not as sophisticated as Apple’s.
Galaxy Z Fiip 6’s camera supports face recognition scans. Image source: Chris Smith, BGR
What I’m getting at is that Apple could get Face ID working on the cover screen by turning the main camera module into a Face ID sensor. When the iPhone is unfolded, Apple could use 2D face unlock for non-sensitive apps or switch to Touch ID.
It all sounds complicated, yes. Using only Touch ID to unlock everything on your phone would be less trouble for users. But I still hope that Face ID will be available on foldable iPhones. Eventually, Face ID components will shrink, and foldable iPhones will support Face ID. But I’d want the tech in a first-gen device as well.
That said, the Pura X doesn’t support 3D face unlock. The Huawei foldable has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor instead.
Rumors say the iPhone Fold will not feature Face ID, but the foldable’s unusual design might make it possible.
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