According to Complex Tech,”Apple has quietly snapped up AuthenTec, a Florida based company that specializes in fingerprint security. Cupertino will pay $356 million for the company.” Now what implications would this have for iPhone users?
Normally you would use a password unlock to protect your phone. This could change it to a fingerprint unlock. A fingerprint unlock would be simpler and also more secure, which is vital as mobile devices continue to house very valuable personal data.
But the iPhone isn’t the only Apple product that could be affected by this. Laptops for years have had fingerprint technology. With rumors of the new Macbook Pro being released it is very possible that Apple will finally add fingerprint technology to their laptops.
Given that we are a couple months away from the iPhone 5 release, I can’t say it is very likely that Apple will include this feature in it. It is more likely to be in a future iteration, but the company could always surprise us.
Then again this acquisition could lead to nothing. Apple purchased a glass company a couple years back which has led to few, if any, changes to their products. Apple recently signed an exclusivity deal with Liquidmetal which so far hasn’t been thought to be in the iPhone 5.
But for the time being this is simply an extrapolation of a purchase by Apple and we’ll just have to wait to learn more.