I continue to believe that Touch ID will be a game-changer: it brings (assuming that it's reliable) fuss-free adequate security to every iPhone. Those that used a PIN previously now have less hassle, those that didn't now have more security. It's a bit like Time Machine in Mac OS X that seems to have raised the average data security of Mac users from spotty to usually-backed-up. It really doesn't have to be perfect to be really valuable. The future applications, beyond device access, are also wide.
I agree with the article that 'adequate' security brings several benefits, especially the value of a general consensus that "iPhones aren't worth stealing, nick something else instead". That could improve your convenience right up to your personal safety (a similar phenomenon occurred when cars first had electronic immobilisers as standard: joy-riders turned to stealing older cars that didn't have them).
The value of data stored on smart-phone is only going in one direction. Point & shoot cameras are dying, I don't carry an A to Z (street map) anymore and I see my credit card, then my wallet, going the same way. But that increases the value of the phone, hence the loss if it's stolen, so it only works with effective and ergonomic security. We laugh that Steve Balmer thought iPhone would fail because it lacked a physical keypad, we may laugh in future because people thought it would fail because it gained Touch ID.
Neither are movies, but they're in the "iTunes" store. More, a podcast is not video...it's audio. I'm not arguing that he's right, but I do argue that he isn't wrong for THAT reason. It might be useful to have them in a different place...but according to your reasoning, should they create an entirely separate app for audio books? And a radio isn't a playlist or an album...but it's on the same tab menu in the music app. But why the needless complication? It's audio. Use the app that plays audio.
Madness, the podcast app rocks, so much better than using the music app, Im pretty sure if you delete the podcast app, you can still use the music app?.
Personally, I've not used it since I discovered Downcast which I find preferable for managing my podcast subscriptions.
I got this phone on launch day. I knew everything about it before I bought it yet somehow it still managed to impress me. The fingerprint sensor I was sure was going to be a gimmick but I couldn't have been more wrong. It's faster then unlocking your phone without a passcode. Had the phone 5 days and am still unlocking my phone for the sake of it.
This is the biggest S upgrade to date and anyone using the argument that Tim Cook will kill apple or apple is doomed really doesn't understand how apple has operated for the past 15 years or so
Ya, after this article I'm more excited to get mine as well, my company forces the lock with exchange mail so I'm unlocking constantly and this will be great! I use pano a lot and always had to decide where to start, knowing that the exposure was locked to minimize blowout, so glad for the auto exposure now. I ordered seconds after midnight, paid expedited shipping, still won't see mine till Thursday.
I only braved an Apple store line once, very much enjoyed visiting with the crowd for several hours. But once inside and no iPad (in this case) model that I wanted in stock, I swore that I'd never do that again.
Edit, UPS, and the Apple store app, just ping'd me, my 4S is now coming a day earlier, today!
Touch ID is more accurate, faster and more secure than a simple passcode, or the alternatives on the market: the easy-to-eavesdrop 'swipe to unlock' gesture used by Google's Android ...
I've seen people using swipe-to-unlock on Android phones, and from 30 feet away I could "eavesdrop" their unlock pattern. Hit them over the head with a chair (because the first hit is free, so make it count), swipe phone, swipe-to-unlock, etc.
And, unfortunately, the bright white circles on the iOS 7.0 passcode screen are also easy to see from a distance. I believe the iOS 7.0.2 update partially fixes that (then again, I don't have a device with 7.0.0 so I can't check now.) It seems like the highlight color of the numeric keypad's circles is more subdued and tinted to match the wallpaper behind it. Slightly better, but still quite visible. And you probably need to use a stock iPhone wallpaper to get the matching tint.
but iOS 7 is an unspeakable disaster. sure there are some improvements. but in general it feels boring, weird, unfriendly and in general looks like a mistake.
but the worst thing are all the added transitions, animations, jerking, twitching, fading, zooming and other convulsions of the UI - i guess they all are part of the "simplicity". they overall make iPhone look and feel like an annoying, irritating and distracting jelly. the user experience turns into constant cringing. iPhone became something i just don't want to touch and use anymore.
but iOS 7 is an unspeakable disaster. sure there are some improvements. but in general it feels boring, weird, unfriendly and in general looks like a mistake.
but the worst thing are all the added transitions, animations, jerking, twitching, fading, zooming and other convulsions of the UI - i guess they all are part of the "simplicity". they overall make iPhone look and feel like an annoying, irritating and distracting jelly. the user experience turns into constant cringing. iPhone became something i just don't want to touch and use anymore.
Well that proves that there is quite a spectrum of responses, I'm in the middle, but hopefully Apple is listening. Microsoft takes a hard left with Windows 8 and look what finally happens, people stop coming along for the ride.
I'm not at all advocating stitched leather and felt crap, but beautiful, colorful. 3D looking graphic design. I love modern looking UI's and the option to kill the animations for when they get old to me.
it does look that some people do like iOS 7. i just talked to several strippers - my good friends - and they all totally like the new design and animations. they were actually quite savvy and knew all kind of little details. well at least Apple managed to please someone.
i wasn't a huge fan of the previous system either - there was a lot a excessive eye sour - but it wasn't that annoying. and it provided what's called "immersive experience". iOS 7 provides repelling experience.
i just happened to use Facebook Messenger app. oh man what a relief - to use the cool old-style keyboard and professionally designed app with nice slightly raised buttons and other cool elements.
to finish the rant i just realized what the new iOS 7 keyboard reminds me of: HyperCard. a popular database app from the times of Mac OS 6 (SIX) and earlier. i started using Macs when HyperCard was already a history - and i don't why would anyone want to bring its UI back these days.
I'll add some real life feedback on the touch sensor after over a week of daily use. Initially it was flawless, I registered 5 fingers from two hands and life was good. On the weekend I worked on several home projects, lots of handwork, washing hands, latex gloves etc.
Once cleaned up, NONE of my 5 fingers would unlock the phone. As I was still out of the house, I had to use the keyboard to unlock and because I used the recommended strong password this was a pain as the tiny keyed, whimpy fonted keyboard is just not quick and easy to enter a lot of alpha numerics. Another pain is the fact that the phone locks immediately on standby forcing unlocking constantly and no option to extend this period, I believe we used to select up to 15 minutes before. I went to a simple password with bigger keypad, much better. I think Apple should allow more than 4 digits in the simple pass, like up to 6 to increase the security just a bit more and yet still use the big keypad.
I'm still a fan of the scanner but one has to realize this limitation, that prints change enough to mess up the scanner. My "office fingers" were stable for a week, but my "worker fingers" had to be re-learned a few times as my hands stabilized.
I've now had mine up and running for a few days, activated it on Saturday: very solid performance. WAY better battery life for some reason and I hadn't gone to the trouble of turning off a bunch of stuff. The touch ID sensor is working flawlessly.
RE: "Another pain is the fact that the phone locks immediately on standby" That looks like an OS mistake as they still note "shorter times are more secure" so that may be a feature they'll restore ice they take notice...
Of course as a workaround the auto-lock delay time can simply be extended...
"Apple's priority for Touch ID was to secure users' devices, a task it had been working on for some time."
I keep seeing this repeated by supposedly informed Apple bloggers and it is just pure idiocy.
Touch ID is not, and was never supposed to be, more secure than the Passcode. Why? Because the Passcode is still there. Swipe to the right and there it is. Same security as before. Touch ID is merely faster and more convenient.
I love it, it is really great and if it prevents me ever having to enter a password I'm all for it. But stop making claims that it is in ANY way 'enhanced' security, as it absolutely is not.
And before anyone even points it out, the argument that, "Now you can add a much more complicated aka more secure passcode since you don't have to enter ti frequently."
Yes you can. But people won't. People are even LESS likely to use an 8 digit secure passcode, as they won't be using it often. Longer are harder to remember...not what people will tend towards when they aren't entering it repeatedly.
Comments
Good article, thanks.
I continue to believe that Touch ID will be a game-changer: it brings (assuming that it's reliable) fuss-free adequate security to every iPhone. Those that used a PIN previously now have less hassle, those that didn't now have more security. It's a bit like Time Machine in Mac OS X that seems to have raised the average data security of Mac users from spotty to usually-backed-up. It really doesn't have to be perfect to be really valuable. The future applications, beyond device access, are also wide.
I agree with the article that 'adequate' security brings several benefits, especially the value of a general consensus that "iPhones aren't worth stealing, nick something else instead". That could improve your convenience right up to your personal safety (a similar phenomenon occurred when cars first had electronic immobilisers as standard: joy-riders turned to stealing older cars that didn't have them).
The value of data stored on smart-phone is only going in one direction. Point & shoot cameras are dying, I don't carry an A to Z (street map) anymore and I see my credit card, then my wallet, going the same way. But that increases the value of the phone, hence the loss if it's stolen, so it only works with effective and ergonomic security. We laugh that Steve Balmer thought iPhone would fail because it lacked a physical keypad, we may laugh in future because people thought it would fail because it gained Touch ID.
BETTER from, Apple! Podcasts AREN'T music!
Neither are movies, but they're in the "iTunes" store. More, a podcast is not video...it's audio. I'm not arguing that he's right, but I do argue that he isn't wrong for THAT reason. It might be useful to have them in a different place...but according to your reasoning, should they create an entirely separate app for audio books? And a radio isn't a playlist or an album...but it's on the same tab menu in the music app. But why the needless complication? It's audio. Use the app that plays audio.
No, but knights are either referred to by their first name or by first name and surname together.
Americans!
Americans!
Knighthood!
Lets face it, Apple is more liquid than any NATION on earth at the moment.
And worth more than most, too.
Madness, the podcast app rocks, so much better than using the music app, Im pretty sure if you delete the podcast app, you can still use the music app?.
Personally, I've not used it since I discovered Downcast which I find preferable for managing my podcast subscriptions.
This is the biggest S upgrade to date and anyone using the argument that Tim Cook will kill apple or apple is doomed really doesn't understand how apple has operated for the past 15 years or so
Quite thorough, as usual! Thank you DED!
Glad your activation problem is also set.
Ya, after this article I'm more excited to get mine as well, my company forces the lock with exchange mail so I'm unlocking constantly and this will be great! I use pano a lot and always had to decide where to start, knowing that the exposure was locked to minimize blowout, so glad for the auto exposure now. I ordered seconds after midnight, paid expedited shipping, still won't see mine till Thursday.
I only braved an Apple store line once, very much enjoyed visiting with the crowd for several hours. But once inside and no iPad (in this case) model that I wanted in stock, I swore that I'd never do that again.
Edit, UPS, and the Apple store app, just ping'd me, my 4S is now coming a day earlier, today!
Knighthood!
Touch ID is more accurate, faster and more secure than a simple passcode, or the alternatives on the market: the easy-to-eavesdrop 'swipe to unlock' gesture used by Google's Android ...
I've seen people using swipe-to-unlock on Android phones, and from 30 feet away I could "eavesdrop" their unlock pattern. Hit them over the head with a chair (because the first hit is free, so make it count), swipe phone, swipe-to-unlock, etc.
And, unfortunately, the bright white circles on the iOS 7.0 passcode screen are also easy to see from a distance. I believe the iOS 7.0.2 update partially fixes that (then again, I don't have a device with 7.0.0 so I can't check now.) It seems like the highlight color of the numeric keypad's circles is more subdued and tinted to match the wallpaper behind it. Slightly better, but still quite visible. And you probably need to use a stock iPhone wallpaper to get the matching tint.
I'm a big Apple fan and using Macs since 1993.
but iOS 7 is an unspeakable disaster. sure there are some improvements. but in general it feels boring, weird, unfriendly and in general looks like a mistake.
but the worst thing are all the added transitions, animations, jerking, twitching, fading, zooming and other convulsions of the UI - i guess they all are part of the "simplicity". they overall make iPhone look and feel like an annoying, irritating and distracting jelly. the user experience turns into constant cringing. iPhone became something i just don't want to touch and use anymore.
????
I'm a big Apple fan and using Macs since 1993.
but iOS 7 is an unspeakable disaster. sure there are some improvements. but in general it feels boring, weird, unfriendly and in general looks like a mistake.
but the worst thing are all the added transitions, animations, jerking, twitching, fading, zooming and other convulsions of the UI - i guess they all are part of the "simplicity". they overall make iPhone look and feel like an annoying, irritating and distracting jelly. the user experience turns into constant cringing. iPhone became something i just don't want to touch and use anymore.
Well that proves that there is quite a spectrum of responses, I'm in the middle, but hopefully Apple is listening. Microsoft takes a hard left with Windows 8 and look what finally happens, people stop coming along for the ride.
I'm not at all advocating stitched leather and felt crap, but beautiful, colorful. 3D looking graphic design. I love modern looking UI's and the option to kill the animations for when they get old to me.
exactly.
it does look that some people do like iOS 7. i just talked to several strippers - my good friends - and they all totally like the new design and animations. they were actually quite savvy and knew all kind of little details. well at least Apple managed to please someone.
i wasn't a huge fan of the previous system either - there was a lot a excessive eye sour - but it wasn't that annoying. and it provided what's called "immersive experience". iOS 7 provides repelling experience.
i just happened to use Facebook Messenger app. oh man what a relief - to use the cool old-style keyboard and professionally designed app with nice slightly raised buttons and other cool elements.
to finish the rant i just realized what the new iOS 7 keyboard reminds me of: HyperCard. a popular database app from the times of Mac OS 6 (SIX) and earlier. i started using Macs when HyperCard was already a history - and i don't why would anyone want to bring its UI back these days.
I'll add some real life feedback on the touch sensor after over a week of daily use. Initially it was flawless, I registered 5 fingers from two hands and life was good. On the weekend I worked on several home projects, lots of handwork, washing hands, latex gloves etc.
Once cleaned up, NONE of my 5 fingers would unlock the phone. As I was still out of the house, I had to use the keyboard to unlock and because I used the recommended strong password this was a pain as the tiny keyed, whimpy fonted keyboard is just not quick and easy to enter a lot of alpha numerics. Another pain is the fact that the phone locks immediately on standby forcing unlocking constantly and no option to extend this period, I believe we used to select up to 15 minutes before. I went to a simple password with bigger keypad, much better. I think Apple should allow more than 4 digits in the simple pass, like up to 6 to increase the security just a bit more and yet still use the big keypad.
I'm still a fan of the scanner but one has to realize this limitation, that prints change enough to mess up the scanner. My "office fingers" were stable for a week, but my "worker fingers" had to be re-learned a few times as my hands stabilized.
I've now had mine up and running for a few days, activated it on Saturday: very solid performance. WAY better battery life for some reason and I hadn't gone to the trouble of turning off a bunch of stuff. The touch ID sensor is working flawlessly.
RE: "Another pain is the fact that the phone locks immediately on standby" That looks like an OS mistake as they still note "shorter times are more secure" so that may be a feature they'll restore ice they take notice...
Of course as a workaround the auto-lock delay time can simply be extended...
"Apple's priority for Touch ID was to secure users' devices, a task it had been working on for some time."
I keep seeing this repeated by supposedly informed Apple bloggers and it is just pure idiocy.
Touch ID is not, and was never supposed to be, more secure than the Passcode. Why? Because the Passcode is still there. Swipe to the right and there it is. Same security as before. Touch ID is merely faster and more convenient.
I love it, it is really great and if it prevents me ever having to enter a password I'm all for it. But stop making claims that it is in ANY way 'enhanced' security, as it absolutely is not.
And before anyone even points it out, the argument that, "Now you can add a much more complicated aka more secure passcode since you don't have to enter ti frequently."
Yes you can. But people won't. People are even LESS likely to use an 8 digit secure passcode, as they won't be using it often. Longer are harder to remember...not what people will tend towards when they aren't entering it repeatedly.