Just yesterday my colleague Jordi told you that Apple had registered six new products before the EEC. These 6 new devices could refer to new iPads and a new iPod Touch. Apple's intention to update these two product ranges is nothing more than trying to increase their popularity, however there is a drawback found in the beta of iOS 12.2.
Developers who have read the iOS 12.2 beta code They have found no indication that these devices carry Face ID. That is, the supposed new iPad and iPad Mini would continue to maintain touch ID as an unlocking method. Also, no Face ID or Touch ID references have been found for the new iPod Touch.
Upcoming iPads will be without Face ID
In theory, iOS 12.2 references four new iPads in WiFi & Cellular variants (perhaps mini, and 9.7 ″?), All without Face ID, and a (seventh-gen?) IPod touch with no Touch ID nor Face ID pic.twitter.com/xiJN6kmmTe
- Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) January 25, 2019
The tweet that you have above these lines shows the different references in the iOS 12.2 code to new products: iPads and iPod Touch. However, the developers have thoroughly researched the references and it is possible that the new iPads do not have Face ID with him. That is, the devices will be unlocked by fingerprint with the Touch ID system.
Remember that the only iPad that have Face ID are the last two models presented by Apple: the 11-inch iPad Pro and the 12,9-inch iPad Pro. But we also have to realize that the incorporation of this system involved a radical change in the design of these devices. So perhaps, Apple has ruled out the option of including this unlocking in new products because of the work that would take a redesign of them.
It is very likely that the objective of the launch of these new devices it is none other than to refresh a range that has been standing still for more than a year or even much longer as in the case of the iPad Mini. The reality is that iOS 12.2 shows us Apple's intention to maintain the design of these products whose renovation will come inside with better hardware.