This is not the first time we’re hearing about this. That actually was back in May, when the first report surfaced that suggested Apple might be ditching Face ID, and revert to Touch ID, by employing an in-display fingerprint scanner, hence allowing for a full screen construction like many of its Android competitors. A new, more recent report, revisits the topic, however, with a twist.

Chinese websites, like Global Times, Caijing, and MashDigi suggest that Apple will release a Touch ID-enabled iPhone, without Face ID, specifically for the Chinese market. This particular market is where Apple is facing strong competition from domestic manufacturers like OPPO, Huawei, and the others, which often flagship devices a lower price points than Apple’s iPhones.

Ditching the Face ID component would help Apple reduce the price of it iPhones, thus making them more affordable and competitive, while keeping biometric security options in the form of the now resuscitated Touch ID.

We advise you to keep skeptical about this report, for several reasons: 1. Apple had the opportunity to go with an in-display fingerprint scanner but instead it decided to kill Touch ID and switch to Face ID. 2. Having a special model(s) for a specific market would represent a huge investment for Apple. 3. modern, performance in-display fingerprint scanners are expensive components, so removing an expensive component and replacing it with another would barely push the price down. 4. all of the report, including Kuo’s predictions, talk about three iPhones for 2019, so even if this report would be remotely accurate, it would happen in 2020, like the report we started out our post with suggests.