Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iOS 7 Beta 4 Code Points to Home Button Fingerprint Sensor for iPhone 5S
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Isn't the information the tech companies giving to the NSA required by law, or at least a secret court that mandates such things until the laws are changed? I couldn't see Apple being immune to those court orders, as that is exactly what the tech companies are blaming them handing data over, to being forced to do so by a court order. How would Apple get by such a court order?
why take what risk?
of course your finger is worth more than a phone -- thats why if a big bad terrorist today threatened to chop your finger off unless you handed over your iphone 4's PIN, you'd hand over your PIN. so there is *no more risk* in having a fingerprint phone than a non. if anyone threatens anyone w/ dismembering a finger or toe, we'll give up our PINs...doesnt matter if its an iphone 5S, 4, or 3GS. thus there is no additional risk w/ this rumored new device.
Last edited:
Finally some solid proof of this! This plus iCloud Keychain will be a great new feature.
I wonder how it will work on the white iPhone. Will it be able to work through the white or will the sensor be visible like the camera is now on the front? Might look weird if the home button is black.
I wonder how it will work on the white iPhone. Will it be able to work through the white or will the sensor be visible like the camera is now on the front? Might look weird if the home button is black.
But as I stated before, it's much easier to just chop off the finger and open up the phone rather than trying to get the PIN, even if it's a couple of minutes of interrogation/intimidation/threatening it's still time wasted for the terrorist or thief where they could be out there terrorizing or thieving.
youre discussing court orders -- the guy i was responding to is talking about NSA having unfettered access to all sorts of data via its rumored "PRISM" program. apple said that is not the case, that NSA has no direct access to their data center. that the only data they give out is the very least possible when given a court order. further, they said they dont retain data they have no business retaining thus cant hand that over if they could.
lastly, just like Amazon doesnt store their users passwords in plain text in their db, apple wont be storing images of your prints. theyll be storing a hashed and encrypted representation of your print, which the device's sensors match up w/ the points of data in your actual finger as you scan it.
but dont let that stop the mass hysteria of people who dont know how these things work from pretending they do.
I hope this works without needing to push another button first. And I hope it activates the phone quickly.
no, it's not. being able to successfully CHOP OFF SOMEBODY'S FINGER IN PUBLIC is a much more difficult thing to do than to threaten to do so and have them give up their PIN. or more likely -- ask them to do so at gunpoint.
there is absolutely no difference between asking somebody (at gunpoint) to unlock their phone w/ a fingerprint (5S) or a PIN (all other phones). none. in all cases the victim will quickly give up their PIN (all other phones), or reach over and have a fingerprint scanned (5S). the behavior is the same, and having a fngerprint phone doesnt increase your chances of grave bodily harm since youre totally willing to unlock it when threatened just like anybody else.
but your scenario is absurd and ridiculous. thieves dont do this today, even tho they could (at gunpoint). nobody does because the scenario youre inventing is just for the movies. in real life thieves take the stolen phones to a guy who gives them cash for them w/o even looking or caring whats on it.
Pretty sure NSA would have access to TSA database regarding fingerprints from people flying to or from the USA. Most likely a whole lot more countries too.
Your fingerprint would be stored in your iCloud Keychain, and that´s encrypted from end-point to end-point. Apple does not have the ability to decrypt or even access that information with your username/password. They do respect privacy, and have no desire to collect peoples fingerprints or biomet data. Google on the other hand..
Also, cutting of someones finger would not allow you to gain access to their phone. There are a ton of biometrics that would be checked, AuthenTec already revealed this years ago.
What this hopefully is, is a truly unique and secure method of accessing your devices and accounts. If it works flawlessly that is, otherwise it will be another finger-gate.
As a secret agent, I'm more concerned about the potential loss of plausible deniability. I hope that we can use a combination of fingerprints and text entry and/or that different fingers trigger login methods. If apple don't meet these requirements we'll have to switch back to our ****** plastic unintuative ultra-sat-stealth headsets and lose out on google maps
youre responding to the wrong person -- i said much the same as you in response to the irrational fears being toted by those with no experience in authentication practices.
You are right in certain scenarios, in public places for example it would be difficult to cut someones finger off. In a back alley or dark club, however, it would be quicker and more efficient to cut the finger off and make off with the phone than trying to torture a PIN code out of someone. The 5s will certainly be a more dangerous phone to carry because of this, unless as you point out you stay in public most of the time.
----------
http://www.apple.com/apples-commitment-to-customer-privacy/
Good stuff, good to know Apple is committed to privacy.
This is the feature that will separate the budget iPhone from the new 5s.
Considering people in other countries that may have serious privacy concerns with a finger print reader they can choose the budget iPhone.
I don't think Apple is going to call it budget at all since I think it may have all the same features but a few, the finger print reader being the main one, and maybe a slightly lower camera, also NFC (if, a "BIG" if the new iPhone has Finger print reader and NFC)
But yeah it would make a great way to distinguish the two phones.
Considering people in other countries that may have serious privacy concerns with a finger print reader they can choose the budget iPhone.
I don't think Apple is going to call it budget at all since I think it may have all the same features but a few, the finger print reader being the main one, and maybe a slightly lower camera, also NFC (if, a "BIG" if the new iPhone has Finger print reader and NFC)
But yeah it would make a great way to distinguish the two phones.
Depending on how sophisticated the sensor is, it will likely look for a pulse on your fingertip as well.
So cutting it of and just placing it on the home button won't necessarily work.
But well only know that at release
You'd rather unlock your phone and login to your apps in public using your voice instead of just swiping your thumb on the home button?
Something seems a little unusual about a fingerprint sensor on an iPhone...but I can't seem to put my finger on it. 
If by copying, you mean picking a feature that didn't work properly and improving on it to make it work better than ever before, then yeah, apple, please copy more!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Yes that would be painful for everyone for sure. Not as much as when it fails to understand you, just like Siri.
All evened out by the people who think they know what their talking about. The same people that believe that when companies say things then it simply must be true, probably because their belief system can't handle the probable reality !!!
If the fingerprint sensor is in the touch screen itself, this would probably solve a lot of issues and rumours that have been going on for a while:
1. It would do away with a largely unreliable physical home button.
2. It would enable NFC payments or similar via fingerprint/facial/retina scanning.
3. It could allow multiple (and maybe even joint) user accounts.
4. The screen display could increase a bit to compete with Samsung's larger displays, but while keeping the physical handset the same size.
All of this sounds good to me!
1. It would do away with a largely unreliable physical home button.
2. It would enable NFC payments or similar via fingerprint/facial/retina scanning.
3. It could allow multiple (and maybe even joint) user accounts.
4. The screen display could increase a bit to compete with Samsung's larger displays, but while keeping the physical handset the same size.
All of this sounds good to me!
whatever can be done using tech THEY WILL DO. learn from history. laws? they cannot care less! sue them! LOL! they have the means, the money, the law. they own the system and its rules. it is so obvious. obama kills people without any court being asked in pakistan or any other place. bin-laden? he was killed they say. same timeick Cheney:there is no connection between bin-laden and 9/11. go figure! please apple finger print me!
ick Cheney:there is no connection between bin-laden and 9/11. go figure! please apple finger print me!
Exactly. And once we see the FP tech apple brings to the table with the 5S, everyone else will be copying it within months. And anyone that thinks the FP scanner is going to be anything like the crap that's been used in the past (& present) on laptops, etc. , is crazy.
----------
It's gonna be groundbreaking as far as FP scanning tech goes. It's gonna be the new standard that everyone will copy.