When Apple unveiled the latest iPhone last September, one of the new features attracting a lot of attention was the fingerprint sensor embedded on the home button.
The TouchID fingerprint sensor, allows unlocking the iPhone and even authorize iTunes app purchases by scanning a pre-authenticated fingertip (your fingerprint, that is).
It seems though that Apple has more plans for the technology behind the TouchID.In a leaked patent filing with the World International Property Organization, Apple shows new uses for the TouchID`s sensor technology.One of them is the transformation of the Home button into a trackpad.The patent filing describes how users could access the graphic interface of the phone by "revolving" or "twisting" their fingerprint on the button`s sensor. Moreover, the fingerprint the sensor could measure the length of time and amount of pressure on it, opening new uses for that data in apps or the iOS itself.
But that`s not all. Apple describes on its patent filing
how an entire display can be used to scan fingerprints. This new feature could potentially allow the OS to differentiate between fingers or even hands, allowing it to perform a variety of tasks and operations based on that data.
Apple goes further into stating that the software behind the new feature would be smart enough to recognize when the phone is in fingerprint recognition mode (i.e. "enhanced sensitivity") or when it is in "normal" use, otherwise known as "reduced sensitivity."
"Enhanced sensitivity" could also mean restricting to small screen areas so only specific apps, like for example banking, would be allowed in that extra layer of protection.
In general the patent filing provides a lot of interest and it is a rather good read for a cold winter night, for people who would enjoy reading over its 612-pages...
