Foldable iPhone Under-Screen Touch ID Rumor Dismissed by Analyst

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is standing by his prediction that Apple's first foldable iPhone will feature Touch ID integrated into the side button rather than an under-display fingerprint sensor.

Apple Foldable Thumb
In a post on X (Twitter) today, Kuo referenced his March forecast for the rumored 2026 device: "Six months ago, I predicted the foldable iPhone would use side-button Touch ID." Kuo goes on:

"There are now market rumors that it will adopt an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, but I think that's unlikely. It's expected that Luxshare ICT will supply the side-button Touch ID module for the foldable iPhone."

Kuo's original prediction outlined a book-style foldable iPhone with an approximately 7.8-inch inner display and 5.5-inch outer screen, priced between $2,000 and $2,500. He suggested Apple would skip Face ID authentication to save internal space in the folded design. Apple has already used side button-integrated Touch ID for the iPad Air and iPad mini, so the design choice is not unprecedented.

Camera-wise, the foldable iPhone is expected to include a dual-lens rear camera, with a front-facing camera for both folded and unfolded states, according to Kuo.

Both Kuo and fellow analyst Jeff Pu say mass production is planned for the second half of 2026. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has said he expects the device to be launched next year in the fall season.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

Rachid Vàzquez Avatar
15 weeks ago

I understand the space issue but for a flagship device to not have face ID seems strange to me. Yes in the iPad Air/Mini but they aren't flagship
Why put two Face ID sensors (one inside, one outside) when you could just use a single Touch ID?
It makes no sense from an engineering standpoint.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rachid Vàzquez Avatar
15 weeks ago

From a shareholders perspective which is the main and only customer for Apple. This makes perfect sense. Increase the price two-fold but downgrade it two-fold too.

Maximum profit.
Downgrade? Why would Touch ID be considered a downgrade? I don't get it...
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
latts Avatar
15 weeks ago
I understand the space issue but for a flagship device to not have face ID seems strange to me. Yes in the iPad Air/Mini but they aren't flagship
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
15 weeks ago
Rumor dismissed as rumor.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ReliableSource Avatar
15 weeks ago
The threads about this just go to show how different people are and how differently they experience things, because I could never go back to Touch ID; there’s stuff I think I’d be fine with giving up but Touch ID would be a deal breaker. Every time I use Touch ID now on my MacBook or iPad I think “man I wish this thing had Face ID.”
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCCL Avatar
15 weeks ago

Downgrade? Why would Touch ID be considered a downgrade? I don't get it...
Use an iPad Air. Then use and iPad Pro. FaceID is definitely way more convenient.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)