Apple Fingerprint Scanner Update On The Horizon

Those guys over at AppleInsider have learned that the Cupertino collective is preparing to release a software update that is designed to develop the fingerprint recognition of their Touch ID.  This fix will potentially solve a “fade” issue, which has been experienced by a number of iPhone 5’s users.

Apparently, a source that is familiar with Apple‘s development plans has said the company is cognizant of early adopter issues that many users of the fingerprint recognition feature in the iPhone 5s are experiencing.

After the iPhone 5s launch last year, Apple has continued to work along with the original AuthenTec team in order to develop its recognition software and they will release an update quite soon, the source confidently reported.  Unfortunately, AppleInsider was unable to verify whether the update will ship as part of iOS 7.1, which incidentally, is due in the next few weeks.

There have been a number of people who have reported what has come to be known as “AuthenTec Fade,” or an intermittent recognition failure, which occurs a few months after their first configuration setup.  Even if the fingerprint recognition feature is re-calibrated and the user’s fingerprint rescanned, the issue returns after a few weeks.

There have been a number of reported workarounds for the scanner to be fooled.  One way is to scan your most commonly used finger multiple times, as separate fingers, assuming the system can recognize the scanned print on the first attempt.

There are some issues with the fingerprint recognition system that Apple simply cannot solve; including the major concern amongst some, that if the finger tissue is damaged, the scanner would render a fingerprint completely unreadable.  There are some improvements, which the company can deliver, which is what will be made available in a software update coming soon.  Whether that update will be part of iOS7.1 remains to be seen.

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[Image via thehackernews]

SOURCE: http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/02/28/apple-preparing-software-update-to-enhance-functionality-of-iphone-5s-touch-id