Home Technology Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 5S To Have Convex Sapphire Home Button [REPORT]

Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 5S To Have Convex Sapphire Home Button [REPORT]

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will fit a sapphire fingerprint sensor in the curved home button in its next-generation iPhone. This change is a key differentiator in design compared to other previous models, says a report from AppleInsider.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 5S To Have Convex Sapphire Home Button [REPORT]

Why is Apple going for a convex shape?

KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be able to embed the finger print sensor after changing the shape of its home button from concave to convex. A convex shape will not block internal space in the phone. According to AppleInsider, the Cupertino-based company opted for sapphire because it has scratch resistant properties which will safeguard the fingerprint sensor within the sapphire frame.

The convex home button technology used by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be optimal for its finger print idea but the shape will be prone to scratches, which is not the case with concave home buttons, used by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) since 2007. Sapphire can be one solution to safeguard the home button from scratches instead of the current plastic material.

Kuo said that the fingerprint sensor will be fitted in the iPhone 5S Home button. The task of fitting it under the current home button of iPhone 5S was not an easy one as the button is already carrying the lightning connector, speaker and microphone. In order to accommodate an extra fingerprint sensor, the shape was changed from concave to convex.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) submitted a filing in June in which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) talked about a method of encapsulating a fingerprint sensor package with limited space. Apple’s cloud computing offers like iCloud and iTunes will become safer to access.

On Saturday, AllThingsD reported that inside sources are foretelling that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will launch the next generation iPhone at a September 10th media event.

Possible source of the technology

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) acquired AuthenTec in 2012, a firm using leading edge capacitive and RF technologies in its biometric chips. This technology allows reading fingerprints differently than existing optic based systems. Kuo holds the idea that this technology is better because it does not lead to misreading due to the buildup of detritus or dust.

Another advantage that the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone will have is that there is just one home button, which will be fitted with a fingerprint sensor. Users will be clear as where to keep their fingers in order to get fingerprint scanned.

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Aman Jain
Personal Finance Writer

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