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iPhone 5S to Include Sapphire-Covered Convex Home Button with Fingerprint Sensor?

It is humorous to me, that even on a Apple fan site that people STILL want to find things wrong with new Apple products. First off, if you are worried about your, "iPhone wobbling because it is placed backside up" you should realize how ridiculous that truly sounds. How big do you think this home button is going to be? Moreover, how far do you think this home button will protrude outward? This is Apple we are talking about here, not Samsung.

To those of you worried about your fingerprint(s) being saved to some database somewhere, chill. Unless the home button is increased to a size of a minimum of 2" x 2" you have nothing to worry about (your entire fingerprint isn't being stored, just a portion of it). Also, that small portion of your fingerprint stored into a database is the least of your worries. Your phone has, A MICROPHONE, TWO (2) CAMERAS (which have facial recognition), and GPS.

If Apple, didn't include fingerprint recognition in their products, SOMEONE ELSE WOULD. This added security is EXACTLY, what is needed at this point in time. This is a very smart move towards, secure mobile payments, simple sign on, password protection, and theft protection.

This technology is needed (IMO) in order to have a properly functioning, "iWatch". Touch the screen and you are signed in, Apple is slowly steering away from the home button all together and this is the beginning of that process. The only problem I have with this is during the winter, while wearing gloves it would be quite annoying to repeatedly take gloves off to use the phone.
 
malnar said:
No one seems to be considering the possibility that the "home button" won't be a button (clicky-clicky button, I mean) but will instead be a touch-sensitive sensor that doubles as a fingerprint sensor.
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I've always been interested in the home button being capitative. In fact, when the original iPhone was announced, I assumed (based on iPods) that the home button was capacitive.

It wasn't until launch day in 2007, when I pressed the button in the store and distinctly remember thinking, "woah, I didn't expect a click".
 
No matter how secure and private this feature really might be, over here in Germany, at least, it'd make iPhones a harder sell. Yes, I know there are other smartphones with fingerprint sensors out there, but none are as high-profile as the iPhone, and with the current NSA scandals, the media would turn it into a big scandal.

Not quite unreasonably, actually, I don't feel so comfortable about the idea, either. Although: I've been to the US in recent years, so their government already has my prints in a database somewhere anyway. It's part of the border control for foreigners.
 
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Apple bought a company manufacturing this kind of technology


Ming-Chi Kuo is no genius for predicting that Apple would use that technology sooner or later :rolleyes:
 
I think a tongue scanner would be better, that way you clean your iphone every time you use it! :D
 
i don't see how this would be a tough sell as it's most likely an optional feature. take off your tin foil hats, your finger prints are the least of your worries.

my gut feeling is apple would rather make the phone thicker than make the button convex. the only thing i can logically see is if apple made the button flat.
 
whtrbt7 said:
The likelihood of a convex home button with the fingerprint sensor built in is extremely low. This just isn't a good design. It's more likely for the finger print sensor to be built next to the home button under the glass. Convex buttons even sapphire crystal ones are a design mistake for something that is supposed to be flat when laid down. I would say the likelihood of a convex sapphire crystal button to be less than 1%.
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[sarcasm] sorry ubt who died and made you the chief apple tech expert? [sarcasm off] still its lots of fun to watch all these so called experts and analysts give there judgement about phones they never even laid eyes on yet...everything is this speculative at this point... I wanna give apple another try again for trying android/samsung for the third time... My note 2 wont activate his wifi its :mad: damn annoying... I will call the place i got it from tomorrow and otherwise demand they just give me another phone... Maybe go an demand myself an s4... :D;)
 
Out of interest, is the 5S expected to cost the same as the 5 does now? Namely £529? I'm worried that with the technology rumoured to be in it, we could see a price bump.
 
Finger print sensor? I really start to think that this is an inaccurate label for what will probably be just a home button. Though I've never experienced it myself apple home buttons break. I think this might just be a solution with some new features possible like security rather than a pin. Convex is not something I would like to see. Apple is more likely to move things around or go with a larger screen to fit it all in?

I'm not sure about others but if the 5c exists then a larger iphone is a certainty, no one is going to want to pay more for a metal apple
Product without some size options.
 
ghettochris said:
if they do, it better be a new iphone plus model or something, I DO NOT WANT A BIGGER SCREEN IN MY POCKET. glad people like you aren't in charge of apple.
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If the size bothers you don't buy one. Do you also complain about the laptop sizes that Apple makes? Was 17" too big for you? How about 15"? How about 13"? How about 11"? Good thing you're not in charge of Apple.
 
With apologies to Dr. Seuss...

Sylvester McMonkey McBean
Shall bring a peculiar machine
To turn concave convex
and turn convex concave
And everything else in between

99Op1lx.jpg
 
I think an increase to a quad core chip will be benefitial. I know iOS 7 is already fluid enough and isn't power-intensive, but it would be a huge boost for gaming. Think about your games loading almost immediately, and having better graphics.

& I also think it's too soon to critizise the fingerprint sensor. You never know, this could be something that could revolutionize smartphones. I'm no Apple fanboy, but I remember someone (I think it was steve) saying that the main goal of Apple was to "create something you never thought you needed once you hold it." We may be all skeptical right now, but if Apple pulls this one off good and assures the safety and benefit of using this, passcodes could become a thing of the past. I may be exagerating this a bit, but I think that if this feature is implemented correctly, then every new smartphone coming out in 2014 could have a fingerprint sensor in it. It could be something innovating that will take the competition some time to catch up. I know this new iPhone won't be the first phone with a fingerprint sensor, but Apple could surely innovate this idea and make it better, just like FaceTime.
 
My phone faces down all the time. If it is going to be convex then it will not lay flush and will keep pressing the button. No a good idea.

Just make the phone a little thicker and increase the battery capacity already.
 
xNYMetsx said:
I don't know if you use a Mac or not, but I do. Apple tops out everything! Processor, battery, and the user experience. I don't get this on the iPhone, I get minimalistic battery and a minimalistic processor and user experience that is really been dumbed down. I want the iPhone to be a Mac. And buddy, specs are everything because iOS grows year after year and requires more from the battery and the processor. I don't know if you've used an iPhone 4 or an iPod Touch 3rd generation running iOS 6, but it's atrocious.

Thus the user experience you speak of turns into complete crap but hey, I'm just touting specs.

Also, I thought Apple wasn't all about numbers, but the quality of the product. (Good specs make quality products.)
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iPod Touch 3rd generation; released September 9, 2009
iPhone 4; June 15, 2010

Assuming a September 10, 2013 release for the iPhone 5S, the iPod Touch is 4 years old, and the iPhone 4 is 3 1/4 years old. Good luck on running Mavericks on a 4 year old MBP with any level of performance comparable to the upcoming Haswell MBP's

The fact that those devices still get updates at all is noteworthy. The fact that iPhone performance increases substantially in each release must not be obvious to you.

As far as features, what exactly are you missing? A big screen model, if it ever arrives at all?

You're a benchracer. All you are looking for is bragging rights.
 
I don't believe this "rumor" at all. No way in hell would Apple design something that protrudes from their slimline device.
 
johngordon said:
Helps what?

If you have normal vision, and are holding an iPhone at a typical viewing distance, you don't need to squint.
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You do realize that "normal" vision after the age of 40 changes right?

It's called presbyopia!

And in case you haven't noticed, a lot of people over 40 use the iPhone.

Btw, the fact that some of you make a 4.7 inch screen size on an iPhone sound like it'll be the next iPad Mini is getting old. For comparison, the new Moto X with a 4.7 inch screen:

Moto X

Height: 129.3 mm (5.09 inches)
Width: 65.3 mm (2.57 inches)
Depth: 10.4 mm (.41 inches)
Weight: 4.59 oz (130 g)

iPhone 5

Height: 123.8 mm (4.87 inches)
Width: 58.6 mm (2.31 inches)
Depth: 7.6 mm (0.30 inch)
Weight: 3.95 oz (112 grams)
 
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Skimming through....

Didn't seen anyone point this out but if the home button is a cacpitive touch sensor it will know if YOU (live person) is touching the button or if its just getting pushed in while face down on a table that isn't conductive. Thus 0 accidental button presses when put face down. Up side there, it would then also know not to light up the screen on notifications and save power, because it knows you can't see the screen anyways.

It would be MORE likely to get pressed in your pants pocket or in the case of another fabric container triggering both the press and the capacitance.
 
johngordon said:
Fair enough, but if a case is being used it would presumably stop the phone from wobbling because of a convex button.

Also, if you want to be polite, why even have your phone out of your pocket?
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Read the last line of my post. Also, i because i tend to take it out of my pocket when i sit down - it's more comfortable.
 
I'm looking forward to the thumb print reader. I think it's a great idea and a leap forward for security.

I'm looking forward to ordering the 5S on release day

For those of you that are concerned there's going to be an epidemic of thumbs or fingers getting cut off by iPhone thieves, I think that's an absurd concern.. iPhone thefts are crimes of opportunity. Somebody leaves one at a bar or something. A few are snatched out peoples hands. It would take a real sociopath to amputate someones thumb or finger, and it would have to occur while the owner is putting up the fiercest fight imaginable. There would likely be witnesses.

Then, there's the matter of not knowing which finger or thumb the owner registered to unlock the device. Are they going to amputate both hands?

I can't see this happening
 
Ray J said:
I don't believe this "rumor" at all. No way in hell would Apple design something that protrudes from their slimline device.
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Again. Does no-one remember the original iPod?

It had a convex button.

Also, take a look at your current iOS device; the current concave button really doesn't dip inwards very much. It's a relatively shallow concavity.
If the button were convex by the same amount, it really wouldn't protrude that much…
 
Roller said:
One month to go... surprised we haven't seen any leaked shots of the front of the 5S.
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This. Is why I'm so excited. My 4S' battery is slowly starting to go.....

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taylormmills said:
I am excited about this rumor. What will be interesting is to see how Apple sets the trend for a fingerprint sensor across the mobile market. This will be something that, if the customer thirsts for it, will take a while for competitors to catch up to. I like the thought of a fingerprint sensor on iPads, too. The final advantage of this feature will be security that provides the possibility to include mobile payment beyond Passbook.
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Exactly my thoughts. Everyone's focusing on utilizing the Sensor for passwords/unlocking the phone, while mobile payments via Passbook was the 1st to come to my mind. Can't wait to see how everything is implemented & for mobile payments to go mainstream. Its a shame Google Wallet hasn't caught on for whatever reason.
 
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