Rumor has it that Apple will secretly visit GIS, and the new iPhone may support under-screen ultrasonic fingerprint recognition

Today (4), according to Taiwan media Economic Daily News, Apple intends to introduce the under-screen fingerprint recognition function for the first time in the new iPhone next year. It is reported that it will send representatives to meet with Taiwan touch panel manufacturer GIS next week. At that time, they will discuss cooperation on ultrasonic under-screen fingerprint recognition and finalize details on production capacity, yield rate, price, etc.

However, GIS has not yet commented on the rumors.

It is reported that GIS previously provided touch fitting services for the iPhone, but as Apple changed the iPhone to an embedded touch design (In-cell), cancelled the 3D sensing function, and even replaced fingerprint recognition with facial recognition, GIS lost iPhone orders. This time, it is expected to return to the iPhone chain through ultrasonic under-screen fingerprint recognition and drive a performance explosion.

In addition, the industry has recently reported that GIS has entered the Mini LED field and will be responsible for the assembly of Apple iPad Mini LED modules in the future. Industry insiders pointed out that GIS was originally the main supplier of iPad touch panels, and now it has entered the Mini LED module again, which will help future revenue and profits.

Industry insiders revealed that Apple started using face recognition to replace fingerprint recognition starting with iPhone X. However, as non-Apple manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei have already introduced under-screen fingerprint recognition, "full-screen mobile phones" have become a major selling point, and Apple has begun to consider embracing under-screen fingerprint recognition technology again.

The latest news also mentioned that Apple considered GIS to be a subsidiary of its main partner, Hon Hai Group, with a solid financial situation. It is also a reference designer for Qualcomm's ultrasonic fingerprint recognition and has experience in cooperating with Samsung's flagship phones. Both its production capacity and yield rate meet the conditions for mass production, so it chose GIS.

In addition to news from the industry chain, Apple has recently continued to apply to the U.S. Patent Office for patents related to under-screen fingerprint recognition, indicating that Apple is actively deploying related technologies.

Previously, the supply chain said that after the settlement with Qualcomm, Apple was very interested in the latter's screen fingerprint and even conducted internal tests. Compared with the optical under-screen fingerprint, Qualcomm's solution is more secure. It is an ultrasonic under-screen fingerprint, which has strong penetration and high anti-stain ability. Even wet and dirty fingers can still be perfectly identified, and it also supports liveness detection, which greatly improves security.

Although it is unclear whether next year's new iPhone will adopt a partial or full-screen fingerprint recognition solution, given that ultrasonic technology only works on OLED display panels, this means that the new sensor may be limited to high-end iPhone models.