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Late last week, we highlighted a pair of Apple patent applications offering details on the company's implementation of its "Touch ID" fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5s. The highly technical patent applications showed how the system works and revealed that Apple first moved to protect the ideas with the filing of several provisional patent applications in May 2012.

A third Touch ID-related patent application filed by Apple also quietly surfaced last week (via Unwired View) but has flown under the radar until now because it appears to have published on the World Intellectual Property Organization's database but not the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's database.

This third patent application is the most revealing yet with regard to Touch ID, showing how Apple has envisioned expanding the feature to incorporate trackpad functionalities, tracking movements of a user's finger or thumb over the sensor to navigate through user interfaces on the device's screen. In one example, Apple shows how a user moving his or her finger right to left across the Touch ID home button could pan a map, with a subsequent upward movement across the home button triggering activation of a multitasking interface.

touch_id_map_pan.jpg
Panning a map by moving finger right to left over Touch ID home button
Other examples show how users could take advantage of "revolving" or "twisting" motions of their fingerprints on the Touch ID home button to initiate actions. Adding the ability to recognize presses of various durations for the Touch ID home button and even sensors for detecting how hard the button is being pressed could offer even more powerful user interface navigation capabilities right from the home button.

Moving beyond the home button, Apple addresses the possibility of integrating Touch ID right into a device's display, allowing any area of the screen to be dynamically designated as a sensing region for the user's fingerprint. In one example, the area of a display representing the device's email app could require a valid fingerprint touching the icon in order for authorization to be granted.

touch_id_mail_auth.jpg
Authorizing Mail app with Touch ID sensing integrated into device display
Overall, Apple's patent application is a massive 610-page document incorporating 464 claims covering a wide range of applications for Touch ID in the future. Beyond the examples highlighted here, the application covers a number of other areas including:

- Enhanced touch typing recognition through sensing which fingers are touching the keys
- Using pressure and movement sensing to turn the home button into a simple game controller
- Using revolving "scroll wheel" motions on the home button to navigate through multitasking app listings
- Using fingerprint verification to enforce parental controls on age-rated media content, restrict maximum device volume, or automatically increase font sizes for children, seniors, or visually-impaired users
- Autofilling web forms or loading personalized web pages based on fingerprint identification
- Supporting multi-user profiles including authorized and guest profiles through fingerprint authorization
- Authorizing location "check-ins", mobile payment information, or photo/document author tagging based on fingerprint identification
- Supporting simultaneous multi-user configurations by allowing users to define separate areas of a device's screen for drawings, notes, or other content based on fingerprint recognition

Apple's patent application was filed on May 20, 2013, but cites as priority several provisional patent applications dated as far back as May 2012.

Article Link: Apple's Plans to Enhance Touch ID with Trackpad Capabilities and Display Integration Revealed
 
I thought previously Apple did a patent on the finger print reader as part of the screen. However, the auth on an app is simply an awesome idea.

I hope it is a bit more reliable than Touch ID has been for me. Seems I always have to clean button or wipe my finger for it to work.
 
This is what I've been waiting for. The fact that the home button now has a touch sensor has been asking for implementations beyond unlocking your phone. I remember someone (probably on macrumors forums) mentioning it could be used as a joystick for gaming apps and I've been waiting for it ever since.

I would also be interested in the sensor authorizing iCloud keychain passwords to show up, as well as logging into my Mac.

One thing I'm curious about, maybe someone could give there thoughts on it, but do you think any of those uses of the touch ID sensor wouldn't work on 5s? Do they plan on changing it slightly for the next iPhone?

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I thought previously Apple did a patent on the finger print reader as part of the screen. However, the auth on an app is simply an awesome idea.

I hope it is a bit more reliable than Touch ID has been for me. Seems I always have to clean button or wipe my finger for it to work.

I've found it helps to save your primary thumb into the phone twice; it doesn't get rid of the problem though.
 
I hope it is a bit more reliable than Touch ID has been for me. Seems I always have to clean button or wipe my finger for it to work.

On average for me it takes 2 or 3 thumb scans before it finally recognizes me and lets me in. Occasionally it errors out too many times and I have to enter my passcode.

I wish there was a way to label your fingers in the Touch ID registration pane (e.g. "Left Thumb" instead of "Finger 2") so you could quickly delete and re-register a problematic finger. Edit: There is! It just wasn't obvious to me.

I wish there was a way to add additional training to the same fingerprint -- e.g. with different rotations or angles of the finger -- to improve accuracy over time.

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I remember someone (probably on macrumors forums) mentioning it could be used as a joystick for gaming apps and I've been waiting for it ever since.

I foresee getting too excited and applying enough pressure to accidentally activate the home button. As it is, when I hand my phone over to someone who has not seen a 5S before, they press and hold the home button and end up activating Siri.
 
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On average for me it takes 2 or 3 thumb scans before it finally recognizes me and lets me in. Occasionally it errors out too many times and I have to enter my passcode.

I wish there was a way to (a) label your fingers in the Touch ID registration pane (e.g. "Left Thumb" instead of "Finger 2"), so you could quickly delete and re-register a problematic finger, and (b) add additional training to the same fingerprint -- e.g. with different rotations or angles of the finger -- to improve accuracy over time.

You can label them.
 
"- Using revolving 'scroll wheel' motions on the home button to navigate through multitasking app listings"

Such a shame you can't just touch the screen and perform scrolling actions.
 
This is awesome. Wonder how long it's going to be until they further significantly decrease the size of the bezel...

I'm excited for the possibility of these features. Don't know about the rest of you trolls.
 
I thought previously Apple did a patent on the finger print reader as part of the screen. However, the auth on an app is simply an awesome idea.

I hope it is a bit more reliable than Touch ID has been for me. Seems I always have to clean button or wipe my finger for it to work.

That was my initial problem as well, but I recently had to restore my 5S, (upgraded to 7.1) and through the welcome screen it required me to do my fingerprints again. Well I was in a rush so I just added that one, and since then 99/100 times has it unlocked vs maybe the 65/100 times when I had 5 prints in. Ideal, no. Dealable, yes.
 
Very unlikely to hit us utill at least iphone 6S...

Do you mean that the current iPhone's touch sensor doesn't have the right hardware, or that that's when they'd allow it on all touch ID phones?

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"- Using revolving 'scroll wheel' motions on the home button to navigate through multitasking app listings"

Such a shame you can't just touch the screen and perform scrolling actions.

It's a cool feature; go away
 
I would like to see it used so if I show someone a picture and they try and swipe left or right they get denied. "you are not authorized to see other photos"
 
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- Using fingerprint verification to enforce parental controls on age-rated media content, restrict maximum device volume, or automatically increase font sizes for children, seniors, or visually-impaired users
- Supporting multi-user profiles including authorized and guest profiles through fingerprint authorization

Article Link: Apple's Plans to Enhance Touch ID with Trackpad Capabilities and Display Integration Revealed

Sounds like plans surrounding iPads becoming more like computers.
 
Would be cool if touch id is behind the screen.

But still this is fascinating stuff to see the patent and how it works
 
They clearly need to implement this on both the standalone Magic Trackpad and on the trackpads of MBPs and MBAs.
 
Perhaps Apple should fix the Touch ID so that it reliably scans with at least a 60% success rate. Only then should they move on to more ambitious goals. But for now, the darn thing is the coolest yet least functional feature I have ever seen. ever. And I've seen some pretty nice features.:)
 
Cool idea about requiring a print per app for permission, but it all seems vaguely familiar.

The world's first retina density smartphone (the 2007 Toshiba Portégé G900) had a swipe fingerprint sensor.

The sensor supported scrolling, and launching different apps with different fingerprints.

The phone even allowed unlocking a nearby laptop over Bluetooth via the phone's sensor.
 
Sometimes, due to my own experience, i almost feel like people are trolling when they say touchID doesn't work well for them. For me, the only time i have to scan my finger more than once for touchID to work is when my finger is moist. I would strongly suggest the people who are having problems scan each finger they want to use twice, if possible, and also make sure you are scanning from different angles when learning it into the device. i have had my device since launch and have never had issues.
 
You could have a pretty funky game controller if switching finger on the Home button altered the control.

e.g. use index finger to control one character, switch to pinky to control another etc.
 
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