Gruber: Face ID Was Always Going to Replace Touch ID on iPhone X
Remember how Apple was forced to remove Touch ID from the iPhone X because of production issues? Actually, this never happened, according to blogger John Gruber.
In a Thursday Twitter post, the Daring Fireball founder noted Apple was “all-in” on Face ID as a replacement for Touch ID for “over a year now.” The answer came in response from someone wondering whether the 2018 iPhone X successor would include Touch ID.
Gruber doesn’t explain where he heard this information. If true, it goes against everything we’ve heard previously about why Touch ID isn’t available on the company’s newest flagship device.
None. My understanding is that Apple has been all-in on Face ID as the replacement for Touch ID for over a year now.
— John Gruber (@gruber) September 13, 2017
Ahead of the iPhone X launch, there were lots of stories about how Apple was having difficulties embedding Touch ID into the device’s OLED display. Because of this, Apple was supposedly forced to make a change.
That change came in the form of Face ID, officially announced during the iPhone X event on Tuesday.
I’m not surprised comments like the one Gruber made are now being aired in public. Apple would never admit to having production issues on a device not yet announced. Therefore, this retelling (whether real or make-believe) sounds about right.
For Gruber’s part, it’s entirely possible he did hear this information before this week. If that’s the case, he either choose to withhold the information until now or was forced by Apple to do so.
We’ll almost certainly never know.
As a reminder, pre-ordering for the iPhone X begins on Friday, Oct. 27 with the first orders arriving one week later on Friday, Nov. 3.
