Inside Apple's iPhone 5s: 's' is for 'sensors'

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  • Reply 61 of 130
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    murman wrote: »
     

    Whoa, whoa, whoa… what? Where's that written in an official Apple source?

    ALL security measures are useless in the face of a DFU; Apple should work on that instead of arbitrarily deleting fingerprint information.


    No.

    Here is the source on the WSJ blog, doesn't say deletion:
    http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/09/11/apple-new-iphone-not-storing-fingerprints-doesnt-like-sweat/
    An Apple spokesman pointed to other security features the company has added to the phone. Apple customers who wish the use Touch ID also have to create a passcode as a backup. Only that passcode (not a finger) can unlock the phone if the phone is rebooted or hasn’t been unlocked for 48 hours. This feature is meant to block hackers from stalling for time as they try to find a way to circumvent the fingerprint scanner.


    That makes a lot more sense. If I have to redo my fingerprints every time I fly (and follow the rules), I will stop using it the first week I own the phone.
  • Reply 62 of 130
    ivan ski wrote: »
    "That data is also discarded if a device is rebooted or has been left unused for more than 48 hours..."

    To be honest the above could only happen if it was an Android device. I mean what iPhone user would leave their iPhone untouched for 48 hours.

    Happens to me frequently when I travel abroad, and am using another SIM card. Granted, I could make sure to just turn it on to listen to the radio or some such thing when I am in a wifi area, but two days seems too short. I wonder if the length before it wipes will be user-choosable.
  • Reply 63 of 130
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    philboogie wrote: »

    That exact controller is less interesting than the one without an iPhone involved. Something's cooking alright, but I sure hope if it's a game App Store for an TV-related Apple product that Apple don't just leave other third party companies handle the most important component when it comes to games on said device.
  • Reply 64 of 130
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    wovel wrote: »
    That makes a lot more sense. If I have to redo my fingerprints every time I fly (and follow the rules), I will stop using it the first week I own the phone.

    After 48 hours the fingerprint fuction stops working until you enter the pass code. It's simple. And you don't use your phone for 48 hours when flying? Where do you fly to, the moon?
  • Reply 65 of 130
    dev200 wrote: »
    My understanding is that the in-memory version of the fingerprint is discarded, but once you authenticate with your passcode, it can decrypt the fingerprint data, you won't have to re-program.

    (Fingerprints are most likely not sitting in memory, just somehow accessible in that specific segment of the A7)
    No. There is no need to discard the fingerprint data. The original scan is coveted to a hash value via a one way algorithm. This hash therefore cannot be used to recreate the fingerprint. Subsequent fingerprint scan are aliso converted and compared to the original hash for authentication. No graphical data is stored, period. The hash value by itself is useless
  • Reply 66 of 130
    I wonder if the length before it wipes will be user-choosable.

    Knowing Apple, no.
  • Reply 67 of 130
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AnalogJack View Post

     

     

    I have a feeling that Apple will never release a larger iPhone because the current size is perfect for a phone. The whole phablet business merely  wastes resources on unnecessary line up complications. Which is you recall is the first thing that SJ did when upon resuming the reins of Apple, namely he cut out all the unnecessary crap in between and bits and pieces products. Which is why Samsung cannot compete and Apple will accelerate into the distance. 


     

    A few years ago 3.5 inches was the "perfect" size for a smartphone, and many Apple watchers were poo-pooing the idea of a larger device. So the ideal size for a smartphone can change.

  • Reply 68 of 130
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

    An iPhone would make an awful Apple TV game controller, just as is makes an awful remote compared to a dedicated one. There's no substitute for a dedicated game controller with physical buttons. None at all.


     

    But neither of those statements are right, as evidenced by the last five years.

     

    Originally Posted by d4NjvRzf View Post

    A few years ago 3.5 inches was the "perfect" size for a smartphone, and many Apple watchers were poo-pooing the idea of a larger device. So the ideal size for a smartphone can change.

     

    Do you remember what morons wanted back then? They said the iPhone was "too big" and that Apple "needs" to release a 2.5" iPhone with no apps and no Wi-Fi for them to get anyone to buy the device.

     

    That's why I know for a fact the idiots who want a 5/6" iPhone are wrong.

  • Reply 69 of 130
    d4njvrzf wrote: »
    A few years ago 3.5 inches was the "perfect" size for a smartphone, and many Apple watchers were poo-pooing the idea of a larger device. So the ideal size for a smartphone can change.

    Not for the better; I liked the 3.5" more. This 4" is cool for what it is, but the phone got taller and is now sometimes difficult to get out of my jeans pocker. 'No biggie, but don't let it become bigger.'
  • Reply 70 of 130
    analogjack wrote: »
    I have a feeling that Apple will never release a larger iPhone because the current size is perfect for a phone. The whole phablet business merely  wastes resources on unnecessary line up complications. Which is you recall is the first thing that SJ did when upon resuming the reins of Apple, namely he cut out all the unnecessary crap in between and bits and pieces products. Which is why Samsung cannot compete and Apple will accelerate into the distance. 

    You are aware of the iPhone 5C release, right? That is an unnecessary model released to capture a specific market. Larger screen iPhone is no different so long as it works.
  • Reply 71 of 130
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by huglev View Post



    There's so much attention given to flash. For my money, s stands for substance. Every iPhone has solid upgrades, but easier to value them without a new design. Come to think of it; Apple stands for substance, Samsung flash.



    I am so relieved to see that Apple hasn't changed. Tim is doing an exceptional job. If anything, it's even a better company with its stronger emphasis on social responsibility and the environment.



    Also, kudos to Apple for ending the megapixel race. More than 8 Mp for a phone is just... flash.

     

     

    Megapixels have their place. But let's be real here. Some quality DSLRs are less than 24 mp. Like the Nikon D7000, for instance. And that isn't exactly what you'd call an entry-level DSLR. There's so much more to a quality image. Including what you do in post process. 

     

    "iPhone-only" is nothing to sneeze at, if you know what you're doing. Give a talented photographer an iPhone 5, and he'll be selling prints from it, no fooling. Small sensors can do big things in the right hands. Give a casual shooter an expensive DSLR, and chances are they'll half-ass it. 

     

    As for what's possible with an iPhone, consider Kevin Russ:

     

    amera Equipment: iPhone.

     

    http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/professional-iphone-photographer-kevin-russ-documents-the-world-an-instagram-at-a-time

     

    Right now Kevin Russ is sleeping in his car somewhere in central New Mexico, but by dawn tomorrow he’ll have hiked to the top of a nearby mountain where he’ll take a photo with his iPhone 5. Assuming he’s able to find a signal somewhere, he’ll upload a version of that photo—also processed within his iPhone—to his almost 45,000 Instagram and Tumblr followers. By tomorrow evening there’s a good chance he’ll have sold a print of that same mountaintop photo.

     

    After his visit to the Portland coast, Russ began taking longer and longer trips. He was still using a DSLR until one day last March when every shot he took didn’t look right. Frustrated, he pulled out his iPhone and snapped a photo through Instagram. It sold the next day. He now uses his iPhone almost exclusively because of its convenience and ability to process photos.

     

    Russ also thinks that people appreciate how he uses the same equipment that they have in their pocket. “I think people can connect to the photos a lot more because people have an iPhone or a smartphone with a camera,” he says. “If they were shot with a professional camera then I don’t think they would’ve caught the same attention.”

     

    Pro photographer Benjamin Lowy is one of the biggest advocates of cell phone photography and his Instagram photo of crashing waves stirred by Hurricane Sandy made the cover of Time last year. But Russ is possibly the only photographer who completely relies on his cell phone photography to earn a living.

     

    That means he can only keep traveling as long as people keep buying his photos. But when you see his pictures, it doesn’t seem like that should be a problem at all. They are almost uniformly magical. "Photogenic landscapes” is what Russ calls them, but there is also a surreal, otherworldly tranquility to the valleys and hills and even the coyotes and bison that star in his photos. 

     

    Result:

     

    http://kevinruss.vsco.co

     

    His print gallery:

     

    http://society6.com/artist/KevinRuss

     


    Additional details:


     


  • Reply 72 of 130
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    "Your finger print data will be deleted after 48 hours or turned off", what is the point of the finger print sensor then,"to save time unlocking" then why would this be a new feature worked so hard on? The goal is when it says to enter your pas ode after 48 hours or turned off, this added security is mostly useless.

    The 48 hours is a lot longer than most users would ever let their phone sit unaccessed so that's aimed at thieves, the same with "turned off" which means powered off and restarted ( "rebooted") NOT the sleep mode when the screen simply goes dark but the phone is still operating.

    So in regular usage all that would ever be needed on a day to day basis would be touching the sensor. Making the TouchID an everyday convenience.
  • Reply 73 of 130
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Happens to me frequently when I travel abroad, and am using another SIM card. Granted, I could make sure to just turn it on to listen to the radio or some such thing when I am in a wifi area, but two days seems too short. I wonder if the length before it wipes will be user-choosable.

    I suspect swapping out the SIM card would wipe the fingerprint data in any case. That involves a reboot I'm sure.
  • Reply 74 of 130
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Personally I don't understand all the bull excitement going on about security and the Touch ID feature. Don't people get it? There is NO security when you get right down to it. If someone wants into your phone they can do it. The question is why would they want to get into YOUR phone. The passcode and fingerprint scanner keeps the casual thief at bay. For the most part the casual thief wants to fence your phone for some quick cash. They don't care about your photos. And just like when you get your wallet or purse stolen, the first thing you do is cancel your credit cards, change all your passwords, etc.

     

    The fudsters are hard at it lambasting Apple for the Touch ID and the "useless" 64 bit processor.

  • Reply 75 of 130
    sol77sol77 Posts: 203member

    Right, because THAT is the conclusion to be drawn about iphone games over the last five years...the controller interface is superior. Thanks Tal'

     

     

     

     

    Tallest Skil wrote:

    An iPhone would make an awful Apple TV game controller, just as is makes an awful remote compared to a dedicated one. There's no substitute for a dedicated game controller with physical buttons. None at all.

     

    But neither of those statements are right, as evidenced by the last five years.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Reply 76 of 130


    But an iPhone acting as controller might :)
    That would be the only good use of a M7 in a IPad. A IPad is questionable to have a M7
  • Reply 77 of 130
    When iPads are installed as a main feature of automobile dashboards the security feature may also be integrated ....
  • Reply 78 of 130
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Curtis Hannah View Post





    That would be the only good use of a M7 in a IPad. A IPad is questionable to have a M7

     

    Even that would seem a pretty poor use?  The M7 just collects data from other sensors, which is useful when the main processor is in a dormant state so that you save power.  If the main processor is on and doing stuff, as it would presumably need to be for an iPhone or iPad to act as a controller with the screen on, then all of the motion data can be dealt with directly by the A7.  Maybe the M7 could bring some small efficiencies, but it's hardly a big deal or anything to get excited about.

     

    I don't think there's any significant chance of an iPhone or iPad being the controller of choice for an iConsole anyway.  The bluetooth spec for controllers is a very definite sign that Apple doesn't think the touch screen is adequate for all gaming either.

  • Reply 79 of 130
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jfc1138 View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post



    Happens to me frequently when I travel abroad, and am using another SIM card. Granted, I could make sure to just turn it on to listen to the radio or some such thing when I am in a wifi area, but two days seems too short. I wonder if the length before it wipes will be user-choosable.




    I suspect swapping out the SIM card would wipe the fingerprint data in any case. That involves a reboot I'm sure.

    I didn't mean swapping a SIM card: I have an unlocked 4S for which I simply get a new SIM card in the country to which I am traveling. As a result, I could go for a few days without using my home-based iPhone.

  • Reply 80 of 130
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jfc1138 View Post





    I suspect swapping out the SIM card would wipe the fingerprint data in any case. That involves a reboot I'm sure.

     

    Why?  Replacing the SIM doesn't reset the password, nor erase the personal data on the phone.  Replacing the SIM doesn't break or change any part of the phone's security, nor should it.

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