NO iPhone Touch ID ? NO PROBLEM

dhruvtalksstech
Apr 9, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Jul 16, 2022

It’s kind of a no-brainer right? I mean it’s simple enough already that they implement it in the iPad Air and Mini, then why not in their highest-selling product despite strong customer

demand? In a paradoxical world of face coverings and masks, it makes more sense than ever before.

Apple may be refraining from adding Touch ID to iPhones (except SE) as not all users are right-handed. Give it a thought, it is equally uncomplicated to reach the home button from both the left and right side and is possible because the home button is located right in the center of the chin. 10% of the world’s population is left-handed and the concentration of this group is mostly in the West where iPhones have the highest concentration and market saturation. It will be difficult for those left-handed people to authenticate using Touch ID as their thumb will always rest on the left side whereas the power button is always on the right side. So, it would be difficult to switch hands just to unlock your own phone.

This may seem minuscule and some sort of made-up excuse to you and the average Joe but it is kind of a substantial aspect of designing a product. Manufacturing a product that feels expensive and special in the hands is the core of Apple’s hardware business. Any sense of indecision and immediately robs away the “it just works” factor that we associate with Apple.

Pragmatically speaking, the stainless steel bands on the Pro models are already enough fingerprint magnets. Touching the sides even more for unlocking the phone is just going to make them look more horrendous and cringe-worthy for many cleanliness freaks.

What about the back of the phone where the Apple logo is? REMEMBER, you can never have a stained and gross Apple log. Apple would rather dishearten its customer base rather than have someone put their greasy and sauce-dipped fingers on the Apple logo for doing something as fundamental as unlocking your phone.

You can’t also forget how much Apple had raved about the improved security of Face ID over Touch ID. All of this is not even going to matter in some time as Covid is fading away and Apple has already introduced Mask ID through software updates in several markets which does away with the need for Touch ID at all.