In the lead up to the iPhone X’s reveal, many reports claimed Apple was considering new Touch ID locations on the smartphone. Those reports were entirely false, says Apple’s hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio. The company never considered placing Touch ID on the back, side, or under the display.
Because Apple was focused on improving Face ID, it “spent no time” looking at alternative placements for fingerprint recognition technology. Once it was committed to facial recognition on the iPhone X, interest in making Touch ID work in a new location disappeared.
