The 2018 models of the iPad Pro may come equipped with Face ID, according to the latest note to investors from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (we first saw the news reported by MacRumors).
Apple announced three iPhones earlier this year, and one of them, the higher-end iPhone X, uses a new biometric security system that ditches fingerprint reading for a face-scanning camera technology the company calls "Face ID."
In his note, Kuo says that the iPad Pro, which now uses Touch ID, will follow the iPhone next year, and replace the fingerprint scanner with the new tech.
The iPhone X saw the first radical redesign of the iPhone since 2014's iPhone 6, in that it covered the front panel almost entirely with the OLED display, physically eliminating the space for Touch ID to live under a home button.
In doing so, Apple created the so-called "notch" at the top, which houses the TrueDepth camera sensor that contains the parts needed for Face ID to work.
The iPad Pros saw a slight redesign earlier this year, particularly the smaller, 10.5-inch version, where Apple slimmed down the side bezels to better accommodate the large screen; however, it retained the top and bottom bezels, where Touch ID still lives.
If Apple were to replace Touch ID with Face ID on the iPad, it is unclear whether the company would visually overhaul its design once again to make it an iPhone X-like all-screen slab (with or without a notch).
If so, it'd still be possible that the iPad's larger canvas could allow for both the Face ID-enabling TrueDepth camera array and an almost bezel-free front without the notch to coexist.
