iPhone Fingerprint to be Featured on iPhone 5S, Phone Unveiling Sept. 10
Apple is expected to release a new iPhone this month and the new version, thought to be called the iPhone 5S, will feature a biometric fingerprint reader as a security provision.
Photos recently leaked by Nowhereelse.fr show the fingerprint scanner located near the home button. The iPhone fingerprint reader rumors for the 5S began in earnest after references to a biometric fingerprint sensor showed up in the code for older iOS 7 beta versions.
Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac stated that the button on the new iPhone will not be that different from the one found on the old version.
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He claims to have heard this information from reliable sources and also stated that Apple did not build the fingerprint scanner into early prototypes of the 5S, but tested the scanners inside of external housing instead.
KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a research note earlier this month that pointed to the next-gen iPhone coming with a different shaped home button.
He describes it as a convex shaped button that will give Apple more space to fit the fingerprint sensor on the device.
"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.
The iPhone 5S is set to be officially revealed during Apple's September 10th press conference.
