iPhone 5S’ fingerprint scanner will be a game-changer...eventually

The fingerprint scanner is nothing new, argues Michael Grothaus, but doing it right is – and that's just what Apple has done

I have to say I’m pretty excited about the new iPhone 5s. Though the external design is relatively the same as the iPhone 5, it’s got a ton of great new features under the hood including a much improved camera and a new co-processor called the M7 that is entirely dedicated to location-aware motion tracking, which will make way for a new generation of fitness apps that are more accurate and advanced the ever before. And then there’s that fingerprint sensor...

The fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s is the phone’s biggest advancement by far. By using the sensor and a technology that Apple has called “Touch ID” users no longer have to enter a passcode to access their phone – or even swipe to unlock. They simply touch a finger to the sensor and the iPhone knows who they are and gives them access right away.

But that’s as far as the capabilities of the fingerprint sensor and Touch ID go...and that’s a shame.

Here you have Apple building in the next generation of security into their flagship phone and all it can do is log you in and confirm purchases from the App Store? A technology such as this could fundamentally change that way we use our devices. For starters, Apple could have enabled Touch ID in web browsers and apps. You know how awkward it is entering various login ID and passwords on a mobile device? The iPhone 5s’s fingerprint sensor and touch ID could have made usernames and passwords obsolete. 

And what about digital payments? I honestly don’t think NFC is the future. The technology has never caught on, and there are a lot better systems that are in development. But with Touch ID Apple could have built a mobile payments option into every iPhone ushering in an age of the digital wallet –one that this time would reach critical mass adoption.

Then there are multiple user accounts. Right now the iPhone only allows one user. But with Touch ID Apple could have made it where the fingerprint tells the iPhone who is using it and shows them their appropriate apps, contacts, and settings.

Apple did none of this.

But that’s not to say none of this is ever coming. While I would have liked to see all these features from day one on the iPhone 5s, I can see why Apple is taking it slow. Getting users comfortable with using a new technology, getting them to trust that technology, and getting the bugs worked out of that technology take time. As Apple usually does, it’s taking baby steps instead of rushing right in.

The good news is that all the uses of Touch ID I mentioned are easily viable via simple software updates because the technology – the fingerprint sensor – is already there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple adding a new Touch ID feature in iOS 7.1, with many more to follow in iOS 8.

 And when those updates come, Touch ID will make the iPhone 5s a truly revolutionary device. It will unshackle us from usernames and passwords, allow us to quickly access our secure documents faster than ever before, and change the way we interact with our phones forever. 

Touch ID is the future of mobile security and access. It’s just a shame we’ll have to wait longer to see how fundamental a shift it will be.