Apple is days away from announcing this year's new iPhone series, but a new report currently has us thinking about next year's iPhone.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is developing an in-display fingerprint authentication technology that works much like the solutions we've seen implemented by Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei, and others. Presumably, it would be a Touch ID-branded feature that would work alongside Face ID, allowing users to more efficiently bypass their device’s lock screen and process payments.

This isn't the first time we've heard about Apple resurrecting Touch ID in the form of an in-display sensor. Last month, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also claimed Apple made an in-display fingerprint sensor to complement its facial recognition technology on the iPhone. At the time, Kuo said it wouldn’t be ready until 2021, but Bloomberg's reporting suggests it could debut sooner.

Apple's iteration would let iPhone owners press their finger down on “a large portion of the display”. The company is already testing this technology internally and with its suppliers, but it's still not quite ready to start mass production yet and may not be for a couple more years.

Apple image 2
Pocket-lint

Lastly, Bloomberg repeated reports that claimed a “low-cost” iPhone would soon follow the iPhone SE, which Apple no longer sells. It'll reportedly look similar to iPhone 8 and may feature a 4.7-inch screen with a Touch ID home button.