Apple Might Launch A Port-Less iPhone In 2021; Touch ID To Come Back

Karamchand Rameshwar - Dec 11, 2019

Future iPhone models might no longer have a Lightning port or any port at all as Apple wants to give users a truly wireless experience.

Famous Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently made new predictions about Apple's upcoming iPhone product lines over the next two years, namely 2020 and 2021. In particular, Kuo stressed that as many as four iPhone models with OLED screens will be launched by Apple in 2020. Followed by them is an entirely new iPhone model that has no Lightning charging port. The model will reportedly be released in 2021.

Photo 1 15755672532361499500261 — Ming-Chi Kuo's prediction about the iPhone lineups in 2020 and 2021.

iPhone 2020

This will be Apple's next iPhone lineup to replace current iPhone models. Kuo predicts that Apple may introduce up to four iPhone models, all of which will use OLED screens, including a 5.4-inch version, two 6.1-inch versions, and a 6.7-inch version. All of these iPhone models will support new 5G mobile connectivity. The next notable difference besides the screen size of these iPhone models will be their camera setup.

Accordingly, the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch screen versions will only be equipped with dual camera clusters on the back whereas the larger 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch versions will have three cameras, accompanied by a ToF sensor.

Photo 1 15755673503411092629846 — Will Apple bring back the old design on the iPhone 4 or retain the current one on the recent iPhone models?.

Talking about the design, Kuo predicts Apple will revive the traditional design once available on the iPhone 4 and 4S.

iPhone SE 2 (2020)

Apple Iphone Se Review 026 Compressed — Apple will reportedly launch a successor to the iPhone SE launched way back in 2016.

Not only the iPhone 2020, but Ming-Chi Kuo also makes predictions about the new iPhone SE. Accordingly, based on the rumors and Kuo himself also confirmed, iPhone SE 2 will be the only iPhone equipped with an LCD screen, along with the design on iPhone 8 with a 4.7-inch display. This iPhone will be released by Apple in the first half of 2020.

iPhone 2021 - No Lightning charging port

By 2021, Kuo predicts Apple may launch a new iPhone model. It is worth noting that this iPhone, as Kuo describes it, will provide a "completely wireless experience". This means that the iPhone launched in 2021 will not have any ports, instead of switching from Lightning to USB-C port as many previous rumors suggested. The idea seems to be similar to what Meizu did with the Meizu Zero, launched earlier this year.

Photo 1 1575567415226499033166 — The Meizu Zero was said to be just a marketing stunt and the company had no plan of mass-producing the phone.

Kuo also thinks that Apple will only plan to remove the Lightning port on high-end iPhone models, instead of all iPhone models at once.

iPhone SE 2 Plus

In 2021, Kuo also said that an upgraded version of iPhone SE 2 will also be introduced under the name "iPhone SE 2 Plus". The iPhone will have a bezel-less screen and no Home button. The screen size will be 5.5 or 6.1 inches.

Iphone Se X — iPhone SE 2 might have a sibling called iPhone SE 2 Plus.

Interestingly, he mentioned that the iPhone SE 2 Plus will no longer have Face ID, which will be replaced by an under-display fingerprint sensor. It is in line with what has been recently leaked about Apple’s plan to bring Touch ID sensor back and upgrade this feature. Moreover, the company is said to use both Face ID and Touch ID in the upcoming iPhone 12 series.

Iphone Touch Id — Will Touch ID ever come back?

At the moment, Kuo does not give any details on the price of each iPhone version. However, with the launch of not only 3 but 5 iPhones in a year, Apple seems to be trying to get the most out of its user segments. So the price might range from mid-range to "thousand dollars".

Please take note that all of these are mostly predictions and speculations, so you should take them with a grain of salt.