If the name Sonny Dickson doesn't mean anything to you, be assured that it means plenty to Apple. Dickson has been the source of many of the colorful Apple iPhone 5C shells along with those for the Apple iPhone 5S. Dickson is just a teenager in Australia, and still lives with his parents. He explained to Reuters that he has 5 to 10 sources inside China that buy prototype parts from factory line workers at $250 to $500 a pop and then send him videos and the parts themselves.
The latest part to have its image leaked is the home button connected to the long-rumored fingerprint sensor. On Thursday, we showed you the picture of the part, which actually traces back to Dickson. The teen says that the part is legit. "I've been doing this for many years, so I know what looks fake and what's not," Dickson states. And you know what? The kid is apparently right.
"This is real. The silicon sensor is the teeny blob in the light colored disk. The black square connected to it is the co-processor that goes with the fingerprint sensor to process the fingerprint data pulled it, comparing it to the data stored that will identify you as the authorized user, thereby unlocking (or denying if it is not you). It also provides the access security separate from the main phone processor, reducing the ability for it to be hacked."-Phillip Smith, former CFO, UPEK
No less an expert than Phillip Smith, a biometrics expert and former CFO of UPEK, says that the leaked part is the real stuff. His company brought fingerprint scanners to the PC. Competitor Authentec eventually bought UPEK and was eventually swallowed up by Apple. Smith was long gone by then, having left UPEK in 2006 according to his LinkedIn profile.
But it is becoming increasingly apparent that Apple expects to introduce the fingerprint scanner as this year's new, big feature on September 10th. Stay tuned.
Former biometrics executive says that this fingerprint scanner is real
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