Mark Gurman On The New iPads And Touch ID 

  • bzamayo.com/touch-id-ipad-fifth-generation
9to5Mac:

With the announcement of the new iPads approaching later this month, rumors surrounding the new full-sized iPad have centered around a thinner, lighter design, but it’s been unclear if the new tablet will sport the Touch ID fingerprint authentication system from the iPhone 5s. I’ve heard that Apple’s most recent internal next-generation iPad prototypes have lacked Touch ID sensors, so it’s unclear if it will make the cut for this year. There are a few reasons why Touch ID wouldn’t make sense on an iPad this year:

  • Exclusivity to iPhone 5s could help with sales for Apple’s flagship phone. Notice the iPhone 5c doesn’t have it.
  • Supplies for Sapphire Crystal are obviously tight.
  • Touch ID would be better suited for an iPad capable of multiple users; is the OS even ready for that?

My current line of thought is that Touch ID on the Retina Mini is a definite no. Supplies are constrained enough as it is, plus keeping it big-iPad exclusive offers a convenient differentiation between the products.

Whether it will come to big iPad or not? I would logically guess yes, but that’s all it is — a guess.