Apple Inc. is widely expected to launch a new installment to its flagship iPhone smartphone lineup at a press event at its Cupertino California headquarters. The new device is expected to sport a few new features, including new color options. One of these new features, which is perhaps the most controversial, is a biometric fingerprint scanner. Now new leaks of the device show features that hint that the fingerprint scanner might be more than just a rumor.
Images of the new iPhone's packaging, leaked by Chinese website C Technology, appears to show a silver ring around the familiar home button on the handset. This has caused many to believe that Apple has indeed packaged its next phone with a fingerprint scanner.
The idea behind a biometric lock for the iPhone is simply additional security. Users could set their device to scan their prints before unlocking the home screen or they could use it as identity verification when purchasing an app from the App Store. Following that, developers could use the device as a way to make any and all mobile transactions specific to the user.
Besides the photos, there has been news in recent weeks of a string of code in the iOS 7 beta tests that reveals a fingerprint that changes color during the setup process. Apple also purchased the mobile and network security company AuthenTec for $356 million. The company produces hardware like finger print scanners for several devices, which has further fueled rumors that Apple will be among the first to seriously undertake the idea of adding biometrics to a smartphone.
According to The Telegraph, the only other company to seriously undertake this ideas was Motorola with its Atrix 4G in 2011. The phone featured a fingerprint sensor but it received mixed reviews from people who said the sensor often failed to recognize their fingerprint after saving it to the memory. Currently the only security for an iPhone is a security code that people can require you punch in before it will unlock the home screen.
Apple will host a press event where all questions about the upcoming device will be answered on Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).
