iPhone 5S

[Morrus]

I'm long overdue an upgrade, so I guess I'll probably get one (locked into Apple's ecosystem by now by way of purchased music and apps). I found nothing exciting in that announcement though. Incremental speed upgrades are expected; camera improvements every year don't interest me that much; and the fingerprint sensor might be mildly useful but it's not interesting to me at all.

Is is at the point where the phone will not surprise us again? The new excitement will be glasses, watches, and other wearable tech? Or am I just jaded?

 

[Hand of Evil]

I do not know why but I want to reference the thread on "Should Movies Explain the Tech" It's a smart phone and I think the shine has worn off and most of us don't care about the newest techno-babble in the device, we just want it to work.

Add-ons, now that sound cool...when will I get my X-Ray glasses attachment for my iPhone or my radar movement tracker to pickup aliens or zombies on my smart device! Or better yet, turn it into a sonic screwdriver!

 

[darjr]

The finger print thing sounds like NSAs fantasy dream come true.

 

[Umbran]

It isn't like fingerprint scanners are new on computers. Windows XP had support for them in laptops over a decade ago, if I recall correctly. Nobody screamed about them then. Suddenly, put it on a phone, and OMG, security nightmare!

 

[Hand of Evil]

It isn't like fingerprint scanners are new on computers. Windows XP had support for them in laptops over a decade ago, if I recall correctly. Nobody screamed about them then. Suddenly, put it on a phone, and OMG, security nightmare!

Tin Foil Hat Time
That is because your fingerprint will be on the cloud and interacting with other devices, credit card transaction & finger print, instant gratification to the bank and the NSA has a copy, you get charged a monthly service fee.
Tin Foil Hat Time

 

[Morrus]

That is because your fingerprint will be on the cloud and interacting with other devices,

Most people won't think that, I'd imagine*. They made it very clear that it would not be in the cloud, would not interact with other devices, and would not be available to app developers. It's stored in its own dedicated chip on board the device itself, and never leaves the device.


*What am I saying? Of course they will! That's what people do!

 

[Janx]

Most people won't think that, I'd imagine*. They made it very clear that it would not be in the cloud, would not interact with other devices, and would not be available to app developers. It's stored in its own dedicated chip on board the device itself, and never leaves the device.

Yeah. If the NSA wants your prints, they'll just grab some garbage. Your prints are EVERYWHERE. Easily aquired.

Now hypothetically, the difference between the finger scanner on my PC that I never use vs. on my phone is this:

Windows never really integrated the finger scanner. I've NEVER seen a PC with that software enabled and ready to go out of the box. As a result, it was a piece of hardware that never saw use.

Now for smart phones. They need identity management. When Mr. Morrus picks up his iPhone, it should show him Mr. Morrus's email, bank balance etc. When Mrs. Morrus picks it up, it should show her Candy Crush and her email.

The smoothest way to do that is when you click the Home button to activate the screen. If that scan happens FAST, then it is seamless. Once Mr. Morrus clicks the Home button, his favorite picture pops up as the background and he swipes it open. No different than any other time he unlocked an iOS device. His wife sees her background when she does it. Slick.

The security is needed because people can already deduce your swipe pattern by the smudges on the screen. Your smartphone is a security risk if I steal it and get into it before you realize its gone to do a remote wipe (and there's stuff I can do to stop that as well). People say they got nothing sensitive on these devices until they realize what they forgot about when a hacker hits.

That's the story of how it could work, and what value it could have.

I'm a little disappointed in the news coverage, as it seems like there's no single "here's everything that was said" article to cover the highlights. I haven't actually seen an article about the fingerprint scanner post-presentation.

My wife will get a 5s. She's due for an upgrade and has a 4s. She'll get $150 for it in trade-in at Worst Buy (I got $140 on my iPhone 4 just 2 months ago).

 

[tomBitonti]

I thought this style of identity detection (using biometrics) was decided upon as a poor technique by the security community?

Once someone else has your fingerprint and a way to spoof it, there is no way to generate a new biometric.

Practically, using a fingerprint has a problem of use in an even slightly dirty environment, or with wearing gloves, or, say, what happens if you have a cut or burn.

Thx!

TomB

 

[Janx]

I thought this style of identity detection (using biometrics) was decided upon as a poor technique by the security community?

Once someone else has your fingerprint and a way to spoof it, there is no way to generate a new biometric.

Practically, using a fingerprint has a problem of use in an even slightly dirty environment, or with wearing gloves, or, say, what happens if you have a cut or burn.

Thx!

TomB

True enough.

I think there's the matter of what kind of threat/problem is the fingerscanner going to solve/not solve.

It won't solve the NSA getting into your phone because you are a suspect and they've sent an agent to capture your print, and make a duplicate finger to open your phone when you're in the bathroom at the Embassy ball. they have better tech to foil your security. But I think in general, you are screwed when a spy organization decides to aim at you.

It will solve keeping your kids out of your profile.

It will solve the hoodlum who lifted your phone at Starbucks or punched you in the face and took your smart phone. Which is probably the top risk to smart phone owners right now.

The potential of false-failure, where a damaged finger prevents you from getting into your phone is also an issue. Per one article I saw, the chip can manage multiple fingers, so if you inventoried all your fingers, you can try a different one.

I had surmised Apple would use the camera and facial recognition during the swiping process, using hardware already in the phone, but clearly, that hasn't happened.

 

[Morrus]

Weird. I didn't for a moment imagine it was anything more than a quick way to optionally bypass entering a code. Why are you guys thinking you won't still be able to enter your pass code if there's a scanning issue?

Also, [MENTION=8835]Janx[/MENTION] - that doesn't remotely resemble my phone usage. My wife and I have our own phones, as I suspect is common. Sharing a phone would make it hard for me to call her!