I use my phone a lot when it’s lying on a desk, can’t unlock it when the fingerprint sensor is on the back.
Besides, the convenience of TouchID is largely due to it being integrated in the home button, you’d lose that too.
Besides, the convenience of TouchID is largely due to it being integrated in the home button, you’d lose that too.
You can still unlock a phone via its PIN if you don't want to pick it up. (Edit: I have not owned an iPhone since the original. Does the iPhone not provide a PIN option when Touch ID is enabled?)
I'm not an UX designer, but I would optimize for the nominal case, rather than choosing a solution that is sub-optimal 90% of the time, but works better for the remaining 10%.
Fingerprint on the back is a major UX issue. I hope FaceID would work fine at an angle.
Seems like a perfectly normal use-case to me. I have it lying on my desk when I'm at work, which is 40 hours a week. I don't want to have to pick up my phone or enter a PIN every time I want to check an incoming iMessage, news alert, etc.