Will the immediate successor of Apple's iPhone 5S have a sapphire home button?
The sapphire is not as much for glitz as it is for function - it may also double as a fingerprint reader, enthusiast site9to5mac.com said.
"We’ve expected a fingerprint scanner for quite some time and even found code that seems to point to a biometric input for the new iPhone," it said.
It quoted KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo as saying the iPhone 5S may have a sapphire fingerprint reader home button that may protrude slightly in a convex manner.
However, the site quoted Kuo as saying the assembly could be difficult as the space under the home button is already limited.
The space under the home button already includes the Lightning connector, speaker and microphone.
"Thus, we think the shape of the home button could be changed from concave to convex to create more space for a fingerprint sensor," Kuo said.
On the other hand, Kuo said sapphire makes sense as it prevents the home button from being scratched.
"We believe Apple will switch from plastic to sapphire, whose hardness is second only to diamond. Sapphire would protect the home button from being scratched and the fingerprint sensor from being damaged," he said.
Kuo also said the sapphire home button-cum-fingerprint sensor might become a staple of iOS devices by 2014.
Meanwhile, 9to5mac.com said the upcoming iPhone 5S will likely have an improved camera system, and a faster A7 processing chip. — TJD, GMA News
It quoted KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo as saying the iPhone 5S may have a sapphire fingerprint reader home button that may protrude slightly in a convex manner.
However, the site quoted Kuo as saying the assembly could be difficult as the space under the home button is already limited.
The space under the home button already includes the Lightning connector, speaker and microphone.
"Thus, we think the shape of the home button could be changed from concave to convex to create more space for a fingerprint sensor," Kuo said.
On the other hand, Kuo said sapphire makes sense as it prevents the home button from being scratched.
"We believe Apple will switch from plastic to sapphire, whose hardness is second only to diamond. Sapphire would protect the home button from being scratched and the fingerprint sensor from being damaged," he said.
Kuo also said the sapphire home button-cum-fingerprint sensor might become a staple of iOS devices by 2014.
Meanwhile, 9to5mac.com said the upcoming iPhone 5S will likely have an improved camera system, and a faster A7 processing chip. — TJD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
