Patents are being passed onto Apple from a Virginia based biometric security startup company called Privaris. Privaris are known for there handheld and keyring attached biometric scanners. Rumour has it that Apple are look at introducing a buttonless (built into screen) Touch ID Sensor in 2017.
If the rumours are true and Apple do pair up with Privaris, its fair to assume that the uses for the Touch ID sensors will expand exponentially! Especially with the impending launch of home kit, there’s suggestions that Apple will implement a door unlock feature using just Touch ID.
Although it has been corroborated that Apple have actually purchased patents from Privaris, there’s nothing to say they will actually go on to use them. As Apple have a habit of sucking up patents which never go on to be in production. The flip side being when Apple acquired AuthenTec back in 2012, who Apple rebranded as Touch ID. An quickly implemented their technology across its mobile device range.
Of course, if they do actually manage to implement the Touch ID sensor in the screen itself, it could spell the end of the home button on the iPhone. Rumours have been rife since as far back as 2011 suggesting Apple would drop the home button.. The up and coming release of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus (which have just gone into production) have already but it to bed for another year.
However, that in itself comes with it’s own challenges, the most obvious being a bigger reliance on phone side buttons. Which is something other manufacturers seem to prefer. Only time will tell if Apple do in fact radically change the design and layout of the iPhone. Perhaps we will even see Touch ID in its MacBook range!? Who knows..