iPhone 6, iPhone 5S Fingerprint Sensor Feature Confirmed by iOS 7 Beta Code

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Monday, July 29, 2013

The new code used to create the iOS 7 beta hints at a fingerprint sensor feature being available on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S.

The recent developer release of the software for its fourth beta provided fans with a significant clue that Apple plans to bring the technology to the iPhone this year.

The evidence appears as a new code bundle in the accessibility portion of iOS 7. It is named BiometricKitUI and it contains strings related to a tutorial on how to use a fingerprint sensor on an iPhone.

The strings show a photo of a person holding an iPhone with their left hand while touching the home button with their thumb, a photo of a person holding an iPhone with their right hand while touching the Home button with their thumb and a fingerprint that changes color during the set up process.

The fingerprint sensor was first rumored for the Apple smartphone after Apple acquired security firm AuthenTec, a company that specialized in the component. Apple purchased it in 2012, which is when news of an iPhone featuring this technology began surfacing. This could end up being one of the selling points for the company's upcoming iPhone lines that consists of a next-generation model and a low-cost version with a plastic shell.

Details on the names for the new iPhone models have been scarce until earlier this week when a new photo leaked showing the packaging for a device called the iPhone 5C. This could be the name for the low-cost model scheduled to come out this fall. The "C" found in the name is assumed to be an abbreviation for colors which falls in line with some of the previous rumors about the low-cost model featuring plastic shells donning different hues.