Apple picker After endless speculation, proof finally surfaced last month that a future iOS device will have a built-in fingerprint sensor. The code that was found in iOS 7 refers to a special program. We will know more in the autumn of this year.
The idea that Apple will have fingerprint sensors raises a lot of questions: what will the device be used for, how will it work, and how long will it last? Biometrics expert Geppy Parziale decided to share a little of his knowledge with us.
Geppy has been in the industry for more than 15 years, and his patents and inventions in the field of fingerprint scanning are used by several government agencies in the United States. So it goes without saying that he is more than qualified to comment on the subject.
[do action=”quote”]Fingerprint sensor manufacturers have never had much success.[/do]
Geppy sees several major problems with the claim that Apple will use touch technology to capture fingerprints in the upcoming version of the iPhone. Such technology requires special optical lenses and a lighting system. Geppy says:
“Constant use of the sensor will start to destroy the capacitors and over time the fingerprint sensor will stop working. To avoid this problem, during the manufacturing process, the surface of the sensor is covered with an insulating material (mainly silicon) that protects the metal surface. The iPhone's touchscreen is made in the same way. The coating on the surface of the sensor is not very strong precisely so that electrons from the human body pass through the metal surface of the sensor and fingerprints are generated. Therefore, the layer is thin and is only used to extend the life of the sensor, but its continuous use destroys its surface, after a while the device is useless.”
But it's not just constant use, says Geppy, you also have to think about touching your phone all day and occasionally having sweaty or greasy fingers. The sensor automatically stores everything that ever appears on the surface.
“Fingerprint sensor manufacturers (including AuthenTec) have never had much success. Therefore, it is not common to see CMOS fingerprint sensor on devices such as personal computers, cars, front door area or credit cards.
Manufacturers can only try to make the fingerprint sensor last longer, but sooner or later the device will stop working properly. Companies such as Motorola, Fujitsu, Siemens and Samsung tried to integrate fingerprint sensors in their laptops and portable devices, but none of them took the plunge due to the poor durability of the sensing surface.”
With all this, it's hard to imagine Apple planning to introduce a fingerprint scanner. Anything you can think of – unlocking, phone activation, mobile payments – all require the sensor to be functional and 100 percent accurate.
And that doesn't sound likely with the state of sensor technology today.
Does Apple have something that others don't? We don't have an answer to this question right now, and we'll know more in a few weeks. Apple will present the new iPhone on September 10.
A bit strange, it's quite common these days to have sensors on laptops in cars and on doors
But how many times has he used the sensor on the laptop? And it just logged you in without any problems? At work, we have this system on the door, about 200 people pass through it every day to sleep, and it cannot be said that they would be successful.
in winter, your breasts are brittle and you need to warm them up first so that the sensor can recognize it correctly. plus wear grease. well, sometimes you can do it even on 5 tries...
I probably would have thrown it away in a moment if my phone didn't want to log me in...
Well, I had a fingerprint reader on an IBM and it definitely worked even at the time when I sold notebooks as old ones and the overall chassis was already quite damaged, worn out, the LCD hinge cracked, etc. and the reader worked. I currently have an iPhone 4 and every day I literally curse at the Home button x times. It responds to the second attempt and a double-click to the tenth. Calibration according to the instructions on the net did not help either. So now the design of the Home button costs shit and Apple doesn't care. I don't think the reader would make anything worse.
Ok one more time. used the fingerprint reader as often as the home button on the iPhone? If not, it's not a relevant argument at all...
I just wanted to say that Apple probably doesn't worry too much about what will happen to mobile phones in two years. that the home button stops working? well, let's release two more new iPhones by then.
I used the IBM-Lenovo fingerprint reader about 10 times a day every time I unlocked my laptop and it worked without a problem for 5 years. Home button stopped working on iPhone 4 after 2 years. It has been working on the iPhone 3G for more than 4 years without any problems. A button is not like a button and a reader is not like a reader ;-)
the home button on the iP4 also annoyed me a lot... now I have an iP5 and no problems :) I read somewhere that apple worked on the home button and improved the fit in the phone, so now it's fine :)
those are really intestines. a mobile phone for 15 and one of the two buttons does not work there. but that's exactly what I'm talking about. they can easily add NFC or the fingerprint reader and it will work correctly in the next model. it's not true that it's the most expensive mobile phone on the market and that you're turning people into beta testers.
It's more likely that he has something with which there will be problems again
well, I remember how everyone cursed touch screens a few years ago - that they were imprecise, you usually need a stylus, etc... Then the iPhone came and suddenly everything was possible... I think this could be another such technology that Apple will bring to usability and thereby also to customers. They wouldn't release something that didn't work properly. I'm curious what kind of trumps they have prepared..
They should take an example from HP laptops, they are really fast and functional, just slide your finger over the sensor and you're done, I could see it on the top of the iPhone or on the side, it doesn't matter
Agreed, I also had the sensor on my HP laptop and it worked 95% well, mostly the first time.
I've also had a lenovo ntbk for a year now and it's been working perfectly without any problems, so I don't know why they shouldn't have a problem with it too
Gappy bases his hypothesis only on current technologies and does not provide information on how it could be improved and what the future holds in this regard. According to me, the iPhone 5S will have a fingerprint reader under the sapphire glass at 75%, where the sensor will have a new technology in the form of an RF chip. In the future, Apple can thus gain a sufficient lead over the competition. For example, logging in to iCloud services, payments in iTunes, the user will confirm only through the fingerprint reader, which will be more friendly than entering passwords, and also when confirming secure online payments or NFC payments.