People keep touting Touch ID but I guess I'm not seeing the point?

[JayLenochiniMac]

The only 'unlocking' step is just pressing the home button.
It's not (nor has ever) pocket dialed anyone because you still have to press the home button just for the screen to turn on, then it would have to hit a specific app, then hit a contact/recent number, then go into that info screen and hit the number to start dialing.

No, that's not the only unlocking step as you still have to swipe to unlock. It serves an important purpose as the home button can be accidentally pressed even while in pocket. You'd be surprised how often pocket dialing happens when people don't sleep their devices before pocketing them.

For many of us, TouchID is as fast or faster than swipe to unlock.

 

[zipa]

You guys really don't know that they can easily be hacked into? Seriously? Good lord no wonder you guys use pass codes.

No, we don't. Despite having been in the mobile phone industry over a decade I do not know this. Please educate me, o master!

On a more serious note, yes, you can fool the phone into activating, but that would require a forged certificate, spoofed DNS servers and a good bit of protocol-level hacking to create a homebrewn version of the Apple authentication service.

 

[bnmcj1]

Touch ID is good, but I would much rather have smaller bezels on my phone.

 

[sunking101]

Handy for some, but not the massive game changer most are making it out to be. I would much rather lose the physical home button altogether, and have much smaller bezels. That would be real progress. Never mind how thin they can make the iPhone, Apple should be concentrating on how big a screen they can cram into a very small and modern looking handset. The iPhone 6 photo releases, if genuine (and I expect that they are), look very old fashioned to me. Now that we're moving towards bigger screens and 'Phablets', making as small a device as possible is the way to go. Clinging on to archaic mechanical home buttons because they somehow 'signify the brand' is backward thinking.

 

[BeeGood]

You guys really don't know that they can easily be hacked into? Seriously? Good lord no wonder you guys use pass codes.

LULZ if you really believe the average pick pocket/phone swiping artist/meth addict knows how to do this.

Most likely they'll sell it to someone who will disassemble it for parts, and your data will be safe.

Unless it's your phone, of course.

 

[I7guy]

Handy for some, but not the massive game changer most are making it out to be. I would much rather lose the physical home button altogether, and have much smaller bezels. That would be real progress. Never mind how thin they can make the iPhone, Apple should be concentrating on how big a screen they can cram into a very small and modern looking handset. The iPhone 6 photo releases, if genuine (and I expect that they are), look very old fashioned to me. Now that we're moving towards bigger screens and 'Phablets', making as small a device as possible is the way to go. Clinging on to archaic mechanical home buttons because they somehow 'signify the brand' is backward thinking.

I disagree, Touch ID is a massive game changer. It's the single biggest improvement ever in usability vs security. I don't think there is a credible opinion out there to the contrary.

 

[sunking101]

I disagree, Touch ID is a massive game changer. It's the single biggest improvement ever in usability vs security. I don't think there is a credible opinion out there to the contrary.

Perhaps if you work for the CIA, or regularly lose your phone. Mr Average Joe is fine with a four digit password. It takes me all of around two seconds to gain access to my phone, and besides I'm happier having a proper password when using banking sites and Paypal etc.

 

[zipa]

I disagree, Touch ID is a massive game changer. It's the single biggest improvement ever in usability vs security. I don't think there is a credible opinion out there to the contrary.

I have used pass codes on my mobiles for the past 20+ years that I have owned a mobile. Why should I need to suffer big bezels just because some people are too lazy to tap in a code to unlock their phone?

(No, I really don't mind the bezels that much, height is a lot less cumbersome than width.)

 

[I7guy]

Perhaps if you work for the CIA, or regularly lose your phone. Mr Average Joe is fine with a four digit password. It takes me all of around two seconds to gain access to my phone, and besides I'm happier having a proper password when using banking sites and Paypal etc.

Right, that's you. It takes me .25 second to get access to my phone and I have a complex password.

Not everybody HAS to use Touch ID. However because you don't find it useful doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't.

 

[cynics]

You guys really don't know that they can easily be hacked into? Seriously? Good lord no wonder you guys use pass codes.

Only current method on a 5S (only iPhone with touchID) is the "missed call method" and it does not allow full access to the phone only to the last opened app. So you still couldn't get passed that and restore the phone. Even if you could you'd still run into the activation lock requiring an AppleID that was on the phone.

Per forum rule could you kindly provide proof to your claim?

 

[I7guy]

I have used pass codes on my mobiles for the past 20+ years that I have owned a mobile. Why should I need to suffer big bezels just because some people are too lazy to tap in a code to unlock their phone?

(No, I really don't mind the bezels that much, height is a lot less cumbersome than width.)

The flip side of this is, because you want a different type phone why should Apple change it's iconic design and compromise Touch ID....which I really like.

 

[bnmcj1]

Right, that's you. It takes me .25 second to get access to my phone and I have a complex password.

Not everybody HAS to use Touch ID. However because you don't find it useful doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't.

I do not know how useful it is when a 4 inch phone is as tall as a 5 inch phone. iPhone looks so dated - also the iPhone 6 /mockups leaks. I am an iPhone owner by the way, but that is only because of the camera and iMessage.

 

[BeeGood]

I have used pass codes on my mobiles for the past 20+ years that I have owned a mobile. Why should I need to suffer big bezels just because some people are too lazy to tap in a code to unlock their phone?

(No, I really don't mind the bezels that much, height is a lot less cumbersome than width.)

I've seen no indication that Apple would definitely move away from the physical home button in the absence of TouchID, so TouchID isn't causing your bezels to be bigger.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Those of you saying the home button/touchID is causing the bezel to be bigger: While I think they can make the bezel smaller even with the home button, they can probably do even better and make the entire screen TouchID and clickable (like the trackpad).

See http://blog.laptopmag.com/apple-patent-iphone-touch-id

 

[zipa]

The flip side of this is, because you want a different type phone why should Apple change it's iconic design and compromise Touch ID....which I really like.

This might be a bit of a shocker for some folks, but Apple isn't required by law to only make one kind of phone. Just as they have multiple designs and product lines with their MP3-players, laptops and desktops, they could have multiple phone setups as well.

 

[sunking101]

The flip side of this is, because you want a different type phone why should Apple change it's iconic design and compromise Touch ID....which I really like.

Iconic..and now dated design. Not just in looks, but now in size too and for a company which is obsessed with size, this isn't good at all. All of the competition make smaller phones relative to the screen size.

 

[mikemj23]

I don't worry about the losing it part. I'd have find my iphone on but the real point is that even with a lock code people can get into it. Actually I'd LIKE for people to get into the phone because I have seen more honest people than not (depending on the area I'm in though, granted).

One time I found a phone in a dressing room at kohls just sitting there so I took it...to take to the register outside the dressing rooms. Some cleaning lady came after me screaming like I stole her phone.

Another time my mom put her phone on a paper towel dispenser where she works (government building) and some lady swooped it up and ran out of the bathroom. My mom saw who it was so told security and they found her eating lunch and she had it on her so she got fired. Kind of a justice boner right there.

At the end of the day I don't care if you use Touch ID or not . . . to each his/her own. Works excellent for me and it is required for me to have a locked phone per my company's IT protocol.

One side note - I fail to see how the two instances you reference above are good examples of why you wouldn't want a locked phone in the event that you lose it. Neither situation references the person who found the phone, for example, opening it up to call "home" to let you know that they found your phone. The same outcome would have occurred regardless of a locked phone or not.

 

[I7guy]

This might be a bit of a shocker for some folks, but Apple isn't required by law to only make one kind of phone. Just as they have multiple designs and product lines with their MP3-players, laptops and desktops, they could have multiple phone setups as well.

Absolutely agree.

----------

Iconic..and now dated design. Not just in looks, but now in size too and for a company which is obsessed with size, this isn't good at all. All of the competition make smaller phones relative to the screen size.

I like the design and the size. Thankfully there are choices.

 

[cynics]

Iconic..and now dated design. Not just in looks, but now in size too and for a company which is obsessed with size, this isn't good at all. All of the competition make smaller phones relative to the screen size.

It's tough to compare because even the competitions "mini" versions have a larger screen then the iPhone.

But yes the Galaxy S4 mini is extremely close in size to the iPhone 5 except the Mini has a 4.3" screen. Same applies to the Razr M.

Funny to me the "mini" versions of the competitions flagships have a bigger screen then the iPhone.

 

[bnmcj1]

Well. I have had iPhone since 2007. One more design with a home button and I am out. I use touch id all the time, but design, logic and simplicity means a lot to me. I would much rather type a code and then have bigger screen, small bezels. That gives a lot more saved time in workflow and joy than touch id. By now, a bezel containing touch id just looks sad. It looks.. Last decade.

 

[I7guy]

Well. I have had iPhone since 2007. One more design with a home button and I am out. I use touch id all the time, but design, logic and simplicity means a lot to me. I would much rather type a code and then have bigger screen, small bezels. That gives a lot more saved time in workflow and joy than touch id. By now, a bezel containing touch id just looks sad. It looks.. Last decade.

I would be surprised of they got rid of it. If they did however, it would be replaced with something as functional, meaning not a fingerprint swiper.

What non-iphone are you looking at?

 

[bnmcj1]

I would be surprised of they got rid of it. If they did however, it would be replaced with something as functional, meaning not a fingerprint swiper.

What non-iphone are you looking at?

They love their touch id and won't get rid of it. They are obviously totally blind for modern design screen/bezel ratio. You can't just make a 4.7 or 5.5 inch phone. It they still take design seriously, then they have to bring down the bezel. A 5.5" phone does not have to be big.

I would only choose a Google Play Edition phone or Lumia 930 (but that is too heavy for a 5 inch phone). See, HTC One is beautiful, but the bezel is too big. Then again, you get something out of the bezel: good speakers (which also helps with call quality). That leaves Nexus. But the battery is not that great. Neither are the speakers. That leaves. The next nexus or the next HTC One.

 

[madsci954]

Well. I have had iPhone since 2007. One more design with a home button and I am out. I use touch id all the time, but design, logic and simplicity means a lot to me. I would much rather type a code and then have bigger screen, small bezels. That gives a lot more saved time in workflow and joy than touch id. By now, a bezel containing touch id just looks sad. It looks.. Last decade.

But bezel and Home button is what set the iPhone out from other smartphones, and it hasn't really changed much. That's how Apple likes to roll. Look at an iMac from the front and see how much it has changed over the years, when you think about it, it really hasn't changed much. Yeah the technology got better to make better screens and thinner units, but when you sat in front of one, you knew you were sitting in front of an iMac.

And now, the same ideal is applied to the iPhone and iPads. And again, that is what Apple wants, they want their products to stand out from others.

 

[VersaceX]

I've become so accustomed to the Touch ID on my 5S I sometimes find myself holding the home button on my iPad waiting for it to unlock.

 

[NT1440]

Well. I have had iPhone since 2007. One more design with a home button and I am out. I use touch id all the time, but design, logic and simplicity means a lot to me. I would much rather type a code and then have bigger screen, small bezels. That gives a lot more saved time in workflow and joy than touch id. By now, a bezel containing touch id just looks sad. It looks.. Last decade.

….if your workflow is interrupted by a bezel, you might be in the wrong line of work.