Apple Patents To Use Fingerprints to Unlock iPhone

Apple has just filed a patent for technology that uses a new biometric
unlocking mechanism on future Apple products.  Apple has filed the patent that comes just a few months after they bought security technology company AuthenTec for $356 million over the summer.

According to the sources Apple has signed a deal with Sydney, Australia-based Microlatch to develop NFC apps using its fingerprint authentication tech. Today, we get a look at some possible areas Apple might be exploring with the technology thanks to a patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and detailed by Patently Apple.

 

According to Patently Apple, hidden biomentric scanner hides behind the screen on your iPhone, iPad, etc.The technology could also be used to for new security features. In one application, the sensor could be used as a fingerprint reader to add a second step of authentication during slide-to-unlock. It could also be used to recognize your face or eye for added security.

Neither of these applications is especially new—what's interesting is Apple's seamless integration whereby the technology is hidden from you altogether.