It’s August, which means that it’s the traditional time for iPhone rumours to appear. With a new iPhone model expected to be released in September, some experts are waiting for the new “iPhone 5S” to have a new feature – a fingerprint reader.
Not long ago Apple released a new version of iOS 7 Beta to iPhone app developers. As we’ve already written, the new iOS 7’s design is drastically different and it has several new features, such as new Siri voices, a control center with easy access to settings menus, and notifications sync. But it looks like Apple is going to add even more advanced features. For example, a fingerprint reader.
According to 9to5Mac, the latest iOS7 beta that was released to developers has some clues that point to Apple’s plans to include an iPhone fingerprint sensor. The new beta version of the software has a folder called “BiometrickitUI”. That’s a pretty obvious name for a biometric authentication feature. Add to that the fact that the software code also mentions “a fingerprint that changes colour during the setup process”, and the option for a fingerprint scanner looks like a more than likely possibility. There are also rumours from a trusted source that the fingerprint authentication feature has already been implemented.
The expected new feature could be powered by AuthenTec, a $356 million acquisition made by Apple last summer. The company described that its “semiconductor-based sensors are based on both capacitive and radio frequency (RF) technology that detects an image of the fingerprint ridge and valley pattern beneath the surface of the skin, thus capturing sharp and clear fingerprint patterns from the live layer.”
Currently, this is only rumours. But with the current trend towards better privacy and security, the fingerprint authentication feature would be heartily welcomed by iPhone users.
