14 DAY TRIAL // Following several credible reports that Apple is rolling out a third color option with the iPhone 5S this year, a new report emerges delivering more confirmation about this design aspect, as well as several other tidbits involving the phone’s functionality.
Providing accurate information in the past, the people at 9to5mac are citing a source saying that the iPhone 5S will indeed sport a gold/champagne color option.
The source specifically tells the site that “the color is more inline with the yellow fifth-generation iPod touch, but slightly lighter in texture,” which would perfectly describe the “champagne” color mentioned in multiple other reports.
The champagne iPhone 5S will have a white front-facing panel, and the source says the device looks “elegant, not cheap.”
The fingerprint sensor which Apple is said to have prepared for the iPhone 5S is also true, according to the source.
However, while some analyst reports have said that the button may be convex, this source tells 9to5 that “the new Home button’s design will not be noticeably convex.”
In fact, “the tweaked button is nothing distinct enough for the iPhone 5S to be identified as anything but an iPhone 5 by the untrained eye,” according to the report.
Apple’s scanner is also more advanced than competitors’ solutions, the source said, but it won’t be usable for payments. Not yet, anyway.
The main reason for Apple implementing this new technology is reportedly because people generally don’t secure their iPhones.
Eliminating the cumbersome passcode lock, the biometric function would enable the owner of the iPhone to unlock the device based on their presence, not a memorized code (that someone may crack, or can be forgotten).
The iPhone 5S Settings app will include an On/Off toggle for the function.
Finally, the report adds more weight to rumors that the iPhone 5S will be a typical S-upgrade which relies on new hardware enhancements (rather than a new, bold design), and iOS 7, to remain a worthy contender to the smartphone crown.