14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s hallmark Touch ID sensors in the iPhone 5s is one of the key features lined up to receive a fix in an upcoming software update from the Cupertino, California-based computer giant, according to a new report.
Following widespread complaints from iPhone 5s owners regarding the sensor’s “fading” ability to read prints, Apple has prepared a patch and is planning to deploy it publicly in the near future.
AppleInsider hears from an unnamed source that, “After launching iPhone 5s last fall, Apple has continued to work with the original AuthenTec team to improve its recognition software and will release an update relatively soon.
The source “confidently” reported that this fix is slated to arrive in the near future, but wasn’t certain whether or not the patch will arrive in the form of iOS 7.1, a software update scheduled to arrive in the next two weeks from Apple.
The mid-March release date of iOS 7.1 is also a rumor (kickstarted by the same publication) so none of this is set in stone. However, with a growing list of issues being reported - some inherent to the latest update, iOS 7.0.6 - Apple could be forced to deploy iOS 7.0.7 ahead of the planned iOS 7.1 launch.
As we reported yesterday, battery drainage and security issues are a top priority for Apple now. After addressing a widely-publicized flaw that put mobile and desktop users’ data at risk, Apple is now facing new malware threats in its latest iOS firmware.
Security firm FireEye has created a proof-of-concept ‘monitoring’ app on non-jailbroken iOS 7.0.6 devices and was able to “record all the user touch/press events in the background...” In short, iOS 7.0.6 is vulnerable to keylogging attacks.
A report from the Financial Times indicates that iOS 7.1 indeed is just around the corner. The publication has heard from its own sources that Apple will launch its iOS in the Car system with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.
iOS in the car is a flagship feature being tested by Apple’s sea of developers in iOS 7.1 betas, so it’s reasonable to assume that the FT report, while not expressly mentioning iOS 7.1, is talking about the very same software update.
Apple will reportedly make the announcement official at the Geneva Motor Show next week. In addition to Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, several other car manufacturers are “expected” to incorporate the feature into their 2014 models, according to the report.