Apple Watch Ultra - will the next Apple Watch have a Touch ID sensor?

Unlike the Mac, iPhone and iPad, the Apple Watch has never had Touch ID. Each time you put it on, you enter your four-digit code to prove it’s you wearing it, though you don’t need to do this every time you interact with the Watch—unlike how things work with the other devices which time out after a while.

It's not a big hindrance to tap in four digits each time you put the Watch on, and you can set it so that unlocking your iPhone unlocks the Watch, too.

Even so, the absence of a simple, fast unlock system is noticeable. That doesn’t mean Apple isn’t working on it, of course. And the same goes for other brands, such as Samsung. Patently Apple has noted in the past that there have been at least two patents to bring Touch ID to Apple Watch. And the same site reported on fingerprint ID for Samsung Galaxy Watch back in 2018, and a new patent surfaced last week in Europe, apparently.

It's worth noting that the next Samsung wearable to launch looks set to be the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 and Galaxy Watch6 Pro, expected in July this year. It’s not inconceivable that one or both of these smartwatches could include a fingerprint sensor, which would mean Samsung has beaten Apple to the punch.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro. Will the next Watch have a fingerprint sensor.

Apple repeatedly seeks to be ahead of the game regarding privacy and security, whether securing your health data on your Watch or ensuring that Apple Pay is a simple, smooth and reassuringly safe system. Right now, you double-press the side button to activate Apple Pay, and that button is already “hardware-instrumented so it’s not only down to software,” as Apple’s Kevin Lynch told me recently. Adding a fingerprint sensor, similar to the one in the iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad, to this button could be a great way to add extra security.

It seems Samsung could instead mount a camera or under-screen fingerprint sensor in the middle of the watch face to offer a cool way to securely unlock the smartwatch, or certain parts of its capabilities. This sensor would work in tandem with another on the back of the watch to confirm that it’s being worn at the time.

Of course, it’s possible that Apple’s plans are advanced enough to introduce its own sensor on Apple Watch Series 9, expected in September, only a few weeks after Samsung reveals its latest. Or, on the other hand, maybe Apple believes the current security set-up is advanced enough already, and no extra sensor will appear.