Cult of Mac is reporting on a rumour coming out of supply chains in Taiwan that the new iPhone could contain a new capacitive touch home button that incorporates a fingerprint sensor. The report states:
"Apple is expected to do away with the traditional physical home button, which has long been one of the most unreliable components on iOS devices. It’s thought that using sapphire crystal, which has a hardness second only to diamond, will prevent the button from getting scratched and ruining the fingerprint sensor."
I think this would be a good move by Apple, as if they also built in Near Field Communication, your iPhone could become a replacement for the hundreds of passwords we all try to remember online. Instead of typing your password, you could simply have you iPhone authenticate you for a website with your fingerprint. Apple could also launch this functionality using Bluetooth to make it more compatible with their current lineup.
