With the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 still embroiled in rumor and speculation, it's no wonder we're continuing to hear so much about the phones that Apple continues to dangle over our heads. Now we're hearing the rumor that, according to "supply chain sources in Taiwan," Apple will be releasing the forthcoming iPhone 5S with a sapphire crystal capacitive touch home button.
This specialized home button would not only replace the conventional physical home button, but would also allow the iPhone 5S to integrate a new fingerprint sensor whose durability would not be hampered by scratches courtesy of the sapphire crystal's rocking a hardness second only to diamond.
As Cult of Mac reminds us in its report of the rumored sapphire crystal capacitive touch home button with fingerprint sensor published on Tuesday, May 14, the new innovation would not be the first time Apple would be going with the material for a component of one of its phones.
"The iPhone 5 has a sapphire crystal camera lens on its back, which Apple chose to try to prevent scratches from ruining your photos," Cult of Mac says.
Cult of Mac says that the rumor of the sapphire crystal home button stems from a Taiwanese website called TechNews that supposedly has supply chain sources claiming the iPhone 5S will indeed integrate the aforementioned technology.
"But it won't be a physical button like existing iOS devices," Cult of Mac says. "They [the sources] insist Apple will employ a capacitive touch home button for the first time with the iPhone 5S, eliminating one of the most unreliable components in an iOS device (the physical home button has a tendency to fail after long periods of use)."
In addition to the capacitive touch button, the iPhone 5S will have a fingerprint sensor, according to the sources as relayed by Cult of Mac. We back in April already reported on the rumor of there being a fingerprint sensor integrated into the iPhone 5S, so this doesn't seem like a totally bogus claim on the part of the Taiwanese supply chain sources.
For those wondering more about the iPhone 5S, the same sources claim we can expect the handset some time in August or September along with the supposed low-cost phone.
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