One of the big new features in the upcoming iPhone 5S, Apple's next generation smartphone, is expected to be a built-in fingerprint sensor. To be fair, we've yet to see any evidence of this, but reports have been consistent over past 6 months.
Up until now, most folks have presumed that if Apple were to outfit its handset with such a sensor, that it would build it into the Home button. But according to a new patent filing from the company, it could build it right into the display...
The ever-controversial DigiTimes is reporting this morning that Apple's upcoming flagship handset, believed to be the iPhone 5S, could be in short supply when it launches later this year. It seems that its fingerprint sensor is causing production issues.
Though we've yet to see any physical evidence to support the theory, we've heard a number of reports over the past few months claiming Apple has used its new AuthenTec technology to build a fingerprint sensor into (or underneath) the 5S Home button...
Is Apple preparing to offer fingerprint reading as part of its rumored iPhone 5S? That question returned Thursday after a patent from Apple describing a fingerprint-reading structure of sorts was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
A number of theories exist on when a new iPhone will appear and what might be the key features. Today's patent approval could solve both. The technology giant seems to have also cracked the question of how to scan a fingerprint while although protecting the delicate circuitry required to identify the owner...
The Home button has got to be one of the defining features of the iPhone's clean rounded rectangular design. Whereas some other manufacturers add a bunch of physical buttons to their gadgets, Apple instead has moved all controls to the iOS software, leaving only the Home button on the iPhone's face.
That could change with the iPhone 5S, the next iPhone refresh expected later this year. If a new rumor is to be believed, Apple will for the first time replace the iPhone's Home button - prone to failure after long periods of use - with its capacitive counterpart.
This isn't new: many Android handsets have touch-enabled "buttons" like Samsung's Galaxy S series, for example. Apple's innovation, the story goes, involves using sapphire crystal to prevent scratches and dings and protect the integrated fingerprint sensor...
In a tell-tale sign that passwords had had their day in the sun, PayPal CISO Michael Barrett took the stage at Interpo today to spell doom for existing verification methods, predicting that more robust authentication protocols based on an open standard will replace passwords. While two-step verification can bolster account security - Apple recently enabled it for Apple ID accounts - PayPal alludes that secure authentication technologies said to make their way into Apple's next iPhone may announce the impending end of passwords...
Most analysts tend to pull their predictions out of thin air. We were cagey about last month's Morgan Stanley report as it rather cryptically asserts Apple's next iPhone, the iPhone 5S, will have a "killer feature." Of course it will, stupid - every iPhone has at least one standout feature cunningly designed to convince existing users to upgrade.
The iPhone 3G had 3G networking, the iPhone 3GS had video, the iPhone 4 had the stunning form factor and Retina display and the iPhone 4S had Siri.
As for the current iPhone 5, it of course offers LTE and sports the dramatic two-tone design akin to a finely crafted watch. According to a rather reliable analyst, this year's S-upgrade to Apple's handset will have fingerprint scanning as an exclusive feature...
Last summer, Apple acquired AuthenTec, a Florida-based smart sensor company known for its embedded security and identity management technology. The news of the acquisition has sparked speculation that we will see fingerprint sensors in future iOS devices.
And Apple itself is adding fuel to that fire today, with a new job listing posted on its website. Apparently the Cupertino company is looking for a software engineer to join its team of fingerprint sensor engineers down in Melbourne, Florida at AuthenTec's headquarters...
What voice-recognition did for the iPhone 4S, fingerprints will do for Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S, one technology analyst is telling investors. For the second time, an Apple observer forecasts a fingerprint sensor as a key feature of a new iPhone expected this summer. Such a sensor would let iPhone 5S owners use their fingerprints instead of passwords, as well as open the possibility of mobile credit card payments, according to a Wednesday report...