iPhone 6, iPhone 5S to Feature Sapphire Home Button With Fingerprint Sensor
The upcoming iPhone 6 or iPhone 5S model is expected to feature a new sapphire home button with a fingerprint sensor.
KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a new research note this week that points to the next-gen iPhone coming with this component.
He describes it as a convex shaped button that will give Apple more space to fit the fingerprint sensor on the device.
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"Convex home button creates space for fingerprint sensor; yield to improve," wrote Kuo in the report. "We think that a fingerprint sensor will be placed under the home button of the iPhone 5S [or iPhone 6]."
Apple will use sapphire for the home button in order to prevent it from becoming scratched or damaged as a convex shaped button will not be as durable as what is found on the current iPhone models.
"A convex home button could be more easily scratched, so a harder material is required," continued Kuo. "We believe Apple will switch from plastic to sapphire, whose hardness is second only to diamond."
Sapphire will also prevent the fingerprint sensor from being scratched, according to the report.
Kuo also states that Apple will have an advantage over its competitors with its fingerprint sensor as the company will utilize RF and capacitive technology from AuthenTec rather than the common optical recognition found in many other sensors that firms such as Samsung and HTC might end up employing for smartphones in the future.
Apple's version will have a more robust fingerprint sensor system that will be unaffected by dust and other contaminants. The home button location is the ideal place for this component, according to Kuo.
Apple is expected to release its next-generation iPhone sometime in the fall of this year. The company is also expected to release a low-cost plastic model alongside it.
