Will The Next iPhone Have A Fingerprint Scanner?

• Scanner placed in the bezel
• iPhone 5S
• Patent filed in the US

Apple’s latest patent may hint of the company’s intentions to put a more secure means of providing protection to its consumers.

• Scanner placed in the bezel
• iPhone 5S
• Patent filed in the US

Apple’s latest patent may hint of the company’s intentions to put a more secure means of providing protection to its consumers.

According to reports, Apple has filed a patent last February for a fingerprint scanner that could be hidden within the bezel of any given device. Although the company has already filed a similar patent in the past, this new one utilises a new sensor that is reportedly encapsulated within the bezel of the device. This will allows the scanner to be substantially smaller and more compact, but also protects it from external elements that could potentially damage the sensor.

As opposed to the patent filed almost a year ago where the scanner is placed under the display, the sensor captures a 2D image of the fingerprint by passing a small amount of current to the bezel to the finger which provides a more accurate reading.

The patent didn’t provide any information about when Apple might put the scanner into its devices but since the announcement of an iPhone 5S is just around the corner, a lot of people are wild guessing that the technology may debut on the new iPhone. In any case, patents are also a security blanket employed by a lot of companies and doesn’t necessarily equate to an actual announcement so we advise to take this story with a bit of caution.