iPhone 5c, this contemporary model has been deemed obsolete by Apple and will be discontinued.
Recently, Apple updated its "Vintage and obsolete products list", adding Apple's first color The phone is an iPhone 5c, which means that model will only receive limited technical support.
The mobile phone is obsolete, but there is an old feature that Apple deliberately "reboots" - Touch ID.
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Five colors, plastic body, small screen, this is the entire impression of iPhone 5c by technology enthusiasts .
There is a saying that not many domestic Apple fans like 5c. In fact, iPhone 5c has been "unlucky" since its launch.
When it was released in 2013, the price of 16GB was as high as 4,488 yuan, which stopped many people. It was only 800 yuan cheaper than the main model iPhone 5s. This is not the point. , and almost all consumers were pursuing the 5s “rich gold” color scheme that year.
In addition, the previous iPhones had glass and metal bodies, which fit Apple’s “high-end” and “textured” positioning very well. The plastic 5c naturally had an awkward positioning. Especially in China, its domestic popularity and sales volume are far from satisfactory.
The sudden "obsolescence" has made most consumers turn their attention to this "little transparent" that was not taken seriously from its birth to its removal from the shelves.
In fact, iPhone 5c also carries a lot of meaning. In addition to being Apple's first plastic phone, it also unlocked Apple's innovation in mobile phone color matching. It was also the first "cheap iPhone" that officially launched Apple's multi-line approach to mobile phones. In the past, Apple only released one iPhone, equipped with different memory, and the only difference in pricing was whether it was more expensive or more expensive. The emergence of iPhone 5c has allowed more "sinking" consumers to enjoy iPhone.
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The iPhone 5c is heading towards history, but the Touch ID it uses is showing signs of returning.
According to foreign media reports, Apple applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent application called "Short-wave infrared optical imaging through electronic device displays." ” patent and has passed the review.
In this patent, Apple proposes a method of using short-wave infrared optical imaging for fingerprint recognition, which can be regarded as Apple's under-screen Touch ID technology.
This new patent shows that the iPhone’s Touch ID will return to the iPhone, but this does not mean that the physical Home button will be restored. Instead, Apple may design Touch ID using an infrared imaging system under the screen, eliminating the need to introduce a home button.
Perhaps because of this year’s epidemic, many people can only go out wearing masks, making it difficult to use Face ID, which ultimately "inspired" Apple to return to fingerprints, the fastest unlocking method. .
Many Apple fans are undoubtedly very happy about the decision to restart Touch ID, because the return of this feature will bring many benefits to Apple users. Functions such as fingerprint unlocking the screen and fingerprint payment can also be implemented on Apple phones.
This also sends a very important signal. After four years of absence, Apple has returned its attention to the research of under-screen fingerprints.
On the one hand, it is because Face ID has reached a bottleneck. The possibility of further shrinking components is low, under-screen cameras are more difficult to achieve than under-screen fingerprints, and foreground AR does not bring explosive application space.
On the other hand, the absolute strength gap between Apple and Android manufacturers has narrowed. In the past few years of Apple's absence, Android phones have achieved mass production of optical fingerprints, and fingerprint recognition has become the mainstream unlocking solution on the market. It can be seen in the future that the development of under-screen cameras will be far more difficult than under-screen fingerprint scanners, which also prompts Apple to tighten its conversion strategy.
However, there are also voices saying that restarting Touch ID will turn Apple from a "creator" to a "follower" again, and it will also put a question mark on Apple's research and development capabilities.