The forthcoming LG G5 could use an iris scanner to allow users to unlock the phone.

If the iris scanner does not appear, the phone could feature a fingerprint scanner, a feature that was missing from the last version of the phone, the LG G4, according to Tech Radar.

A user on the Chinese social media site Weibo named Zealer claimed that the LG G5 will use an iris scanner instead of a fingerprint scanner to allow users to unlock their phones.

The LG G4 failed to include a fingerprint sensor, but the recently-released LG V10 brought it back. It would make sense for the LG G5 to have a fingerprint sensor, but maybe LG thinks fingerprint sensors are already a thing of the past.

If LG decides to use an iris scanner, it would be big news. Most premium smartphones use a fingerprint sensor to verify users. Through this feature users can unlock phones, log in to websites protected by passwords, and verify purchases made from the phone.

There are very few phones that use iris scanners. Select Windows phones with the Microsoft "Hello" camera have iris scanners, but the process of logging in with these phones is actually much slower than fingerprint scanners.

The LG G5 is expected to use the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and the Adreno 530 GPU. These are upgrades from the G4's Snapdragon 808 and Adreno 418 GPU. The screen on the LG G5 will grow 0.1 inches to 5.6 inches and will feature a 2K display.

The camera is expected to get a nice boost in megapixels (MP) as well. The LG G4 had a 16 MP camera, but the LG G5 is expected to use a 21 MP sensor for the rear-facing camera. However, the front facing camera is expected to go down from 8 MP to 5 MP in the LG G5.

The LG G5 is expected to be released around the time of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February.