The fingerprint sensor might be quickly becoming a thing of the past for iPhones, according to one analyst. Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-regarded KGI Securities analyst, predicted that the next year's iPhones will most likely ditch the fingerprint identification system and embrace facial recognition instead.

In a note sent out to investors this week, Kuo said that the move away from touch ID and towards Face ID technology gives Apple a huge advantage over its competitors.

"We believe this change will allow all new models to realize a competitive advantage via differentiation, on the back of an integrated user experience of full-screen design and TrueDepth Camera/Facial recognition/Face ID/AR applications," Kuo's note read.

The analyst had previously said that it could take several years before Android-based competitors could catch up to Apple's facial recognition technology, which uses the TrueDepth camera to handle face recognition tasks.

The technology is set to be debuted on the upcoming iPhone X, the tenth anniversary iPhone introduced last month. The iPhone X features a bezel-less front fully covered by the screen, with no room for a fingerprint sensor or even a home button.

The iPhone X has yet to ship to users, and it is not yet sure if the consuming public will react positively to the Face ID system, which seems less convenient than the fingerprint-based touch ID.

However, it is indeed possible that future iPhones would be following the design of the iPhone X, instead of the signature style of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

The analyst also predicted that the iPad pro will be getting a new facial recognition system of its own when its next iteration is released next year.

Furthermore, Kuo predicted that once again, Apple will dictate the design trend of smartphones, and Android-based manufacturers will also eventually move away from touch ID in favor of facial recognition.