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iPhone 5S to Include Both Fingerprint Sensor and NFC?

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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China Times reports [Google translation, via Mac Otakara] that Taiwanese chip firm Chipbond has been selected to provide a number of components for the iPhone 5S, including the touch display driver as well as chips to support fingerprint sensor and near field communications (NFC) capabilities. The report suggests that Apple will use the fingerprint sensor functionality to enhance the security of NFC features such as mobile payments.

Rumors of fingerprint sensor technology for the iPhone have ramped up since Apple's acquisition of mobile security firm AuthenTec last year. AuthenTec has been rumored to be cutting off its fingerprint sensor customers this year, presumably to focus on supporting Apple's own efforts in the area. Reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also stated that a fingerprint sensor will be one of the differentiating features for the iPhone 5S.

NFC has been a long-standing rumor for the iPhone, and evidence supporting its inclusion for the iPhone 5 failed to pan out amid claims that the device's design wouldn't even accommodate an NFC antenna. Some have suggested, however, that Apple could have novel plans up its sleeve for deploying NFC within the mostly metal case of the iPhone 5 that will presumably carry over to the iPhone 5S. Still, specific claims of NFC for the iPhone 5S have been essentially non-existent until now.

Last July, it was reported that Apple was deliberately moving slowly into the mobile payments field that could tie in closely to NFC technology. For the time being, Apple is focusing on its Passbook app to offer a digital wallet of passes, coupons, and loyalty cards, although it is easy to see how its functionality could be expanded to include mobile payments and NFC.

Foxconn is reportedly ready to begin ramping up iPhone 5S production, using the same production lines currently used for the iPhone 5.

Article Link: iPhone 5S to Include Both Fingerprint Sensor and NFC?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/11/iphone-5s-to-include-both-fingerprint-sensor-and-nfc/
CBJammin103

CBJammin103

macrumors regular
Jun 6, 2007
233
56
Louisiana, United States
Skeptical, but as a developer some kind of fingerprint API would be awesome... perhaps the user's fingerprint is stored locally and developers could match against it on the device without the fingerprint itself ever going to third parties.
 
jrswizzle

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
I hope the iWatch is the NFC-enabled device....with biometric sensors....

Easier to flash your wrist than pull out your phone.
 
Mr Fusion

Mr Fusion

macrumors 6502a
May 7, 2007
841
1,061
Never quite understood the purpose of NFC. Pulling my wallet out of my pocket and taking a card out isn't an arduous task I'm longing to rid myself of.

The fingerprint sensor's a nice idea (if it can replace typing in lock screen passwords it'd be fantastic) but Apple's never done this before, not even in their laptops.
 
L

LSUFAN861

macrumors newbie
Jan 23, 2013
6
0
NFC Who Cares

NFC is so old and hardly used any where. I'm an apple fan, but they seem to be the last one to show up with technology that's been out for a long time. Give me a 4.5 or 4.8 screen and I'll be a happy camper. You can keep NFC and the stupid fingerprint reader. GEEZ!!!!!
 
L

lcmazza

macrumors regular
Apr 3, 2012
213
0
It would be nice if the title for this report was written as "iPhone 5S makes iOS fun again".
 
K

kbt1020

macrumors regular
Feb 15, 2010
138
1
Sweet now I can stick my phone up against all the vending machines with NFC support.
 
S

shk718

macrumors 65816
Jun 26, 2007
1,120
1,098
in the United States Walt Disney is the only company deploying NFC. We have no where to use it other than their theme parks. So if we got it what would we use it for?
 
DipDog3

DipDog3

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2002
1,191
812
Every time that I have tried to use NFC, it doesn't work & I end up having to swipe the card anyways...
 
SmileyBlast!

SmileyBlast!

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
654
43
NFC is just prone to a bad user experience. It's also a security risk. It's got no killer application accept Point of Sale and has no real adoption.
 
E

elvetio

macrumors member
May 29, 2012
84
0
.

Honestly I dont get what more do people want hardware wise.. The I5 is already a very very good phone. Much more capable than most androids out there. The deal breaker here will be the software. That's the only thing lagging behind.
 
daneoni

daneoni

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2006
11,594
1,145
Apple, i don't care if you re-release the iPhone 5 in its exact current state since its still one of the best smartphones money can buy even in 2013.

Just for the love of all things sacred do something about iOS. It needs a very significant update.
 
WiiDSmoker

WiiDSmoker

macrumors 68000
Sep 15, 2009
1,883
7,238
Dallas, TX
elvetio said:
Honestly I dont get what more do people want hardware wise.. The I5 is already a very very good phone. Much more capable than most androids out there. The deal breaker here will be the software. That's the only thing lagging behind.
Click to expand...

Pack it up Apple. iPhone 5 is all we need for eternity.
 
C

cire1244

macrumors regular
Jul 8, 2008
152
70
Honestly I'm not sure why everyone is so skeptical of this! I agree that the NFC rumor is an old one, but I TOTALLY buy the argument that Apple didn't want to implement it prematurely due to security concerns.

A screen-integrated fingerprint to activate NFC (and whatever else App developers can think of) could be a minor game-changer I think. Something that truly no other phone has done - not just something that Apple does better.
 
bassfingers

bassfingers

macrumors 6502
Nov 15, 2010
410
0
daneoni said:
Apple, i don't care if you re-release the iPhone 5 in its exact current state since its still one of the best smartphones money can buy even in 2013.

Just for the love of all things sacred do something about iOS. It needs a very significant update.
Click to expand...

This. Hope ive has something up his sleeves
 
I

ifij775

macrumors regular
Nov 6, 2012
154
0
Boston, MA
If Apple could fix the entire retail checkout procedure with NFC, that would be awesome. Digital coupons/payment/receipt would be a game changer
 
T

TsMkLg068426

macrumors 65816
Mar 31, 2009
1,498
343
ummmmm, not going to happen this rumor has been flying around since the older generations of iPhone, most likely the feature will be added to iPhone 6.
 
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