Leaks are circulating this week that suggest when Apple previews iOS 15 at WWDC 2021 this summer, we can expect to see a redesigned Control Center that hints at a new form of Touch ID sensor built directly into the iPhone screen. And that has big implications for the iPhone 13 due out this fall.
According to Twitter user Jioriku, who has a history of leaking and contextualizing Apple's internal design efforts, the company has a team working on a multi-factor authentication API that would afford developers the option to require verification of your identity in multiple ways, including via Touch ID and Face ID.
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If true, this means that we're about to see a significant shift in the way iPhones are designed. Rather than bringing back the Home button, Jioriku claims that Apple aims to build a Touch ID sensor into the glass screen of future phones, which likely also means that you'll lose access to Touch ID if you replace said screen.
Specifically, Jioriku says that "Touch ID made the final cut on the iPhone 13." However, he adds that "this doesn't mean it is guaranteed to come it just means Apple approved it."
Touch ID made the final cut on the iPhone 13This doesn’t mean it is guaranteed to come it just means that Apple approved itApril 6, 2021
If you're more curious about what's on the screen than what's in it, you may be interested to hear that Apple is reportedly bringing a redesigned Control Center to iOS 15 influenced by the company's experience porting the Control Center to macOS last year with Big Sur.
Though we've yet to see any images of the purported iOS Control Center redesign, the flatter, fatter icons laid out in the macOS Control Center seem likely to translate well to the iPhone's smaller screen.
However, we have seen leaked images of a purported iOS 15 redesign with icons for Apple services that feature a gradient white background and inset borders drawn in accenting colors, much akin to the neumorphic icon design of Big Sur.
Of course, we should expect the team at Apple to be working through multiple prototypes and designs on the path to a new iPhone, and we won't know what makes the final cut until WWDC brings about an iOS 15 preview in June.
