Apple iPad Air
New Apple iPad Air is an incredible feat of engineering. (Photo: William Iven on Unsplash)

The iPad Air Touch ID Power Button is 'an incredible feat of engineering,' according to one of the top executives at Apple.

Two top executives of Apple were recently the guests of the latest episode of Same Brain podcast with hosts, YouTubers Jenna Ezarik and iJustine. They discussed a range of issues relating to the present iPad lineup as well as the development process poured by Apple into its latest fourth-generation iPad Air, where one of Apple's executives referred to the Touch ID Power Button of the new iPad Air as 'an incredible feat of engineering.'

The two Apple executives, VP of Product Marketing, Bob Borchers, and VP of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, shared their thoughts and insights about the iPad lineup, focusing on the new iPad Air and why it was such 'an incredible feat of engineering,' particularly its Touch ID Power Button. Apple is pushing its new iPad Air model as a mid-range tablet at an affordable price and has more features than the standard and equally new iPad 8.

Apple's new iPad Air features a slightly bigger 10.9-inch display with trimmer bezels and support for Magic Keyboard. A faster A14 Bionic chip powers the new iPad. As regards the new iPad Air's Touch ID Power Button, Borchers revealed that putting the Touch ID sensor into the device's top button in a far smaller form factor is "an incredible feat of engineering."

Ternus explained that the slim aspect ratio of the Touch ID sensor made it very challenging to implement. The iPad Air's sensor needs to be "incredibly sensitive" and has to capture a wider view of the fingerprint during the initial enrollment process, as well as over time. This is why Apple executive Borchers was effusive in his praise on the new iPad Air's Touch ID Power Button as an "an incredible feat of engineering." In the iPad Air's cellular model, Ternus said that the upper section of the enclosure is its antenna.

The VP of Hardware Engineering noted that much of their work centers on ensuring that Apple's new iPad Air's Touch ID Power Button and the antenna did not interfere with each other since both instruments are highly sensitive. He added Apple engineers also made sure the sensor delivers the same security level as that of its previous versions. With the tremendous amount of ingenuity and skill poured into it, it is no wonder why VP of Product Marketing Bob Borchers called it 'an incredible feat of engineering.'

There are also many other aspects why the iPad Air, along with its Touch ID Power Button and sensors, is 'an incredible feat of engineering.' The new iPad Air also features a Neural Engine that brings more powerful features to the iPad and also offers a higher level of privacy to users. Apple's new iPad is also the first device to implement the latest A14 Bionic chip, which promises to deliver more processing power to the iPad Air.