Apple Reportedly Working with Australian Firm Microlatch on Fingerprint Recognition
Even as AuthenTec's board of directors appears to moving toward approval of Apple's $356 million acquisition of the fingerprint sensor chip company, a new report suggests that Apple is also drawing on other expertise to assist with its mobile payments effort. According to The Australian (subscription required), Apple has signed a deal to work with Australian firm Microlatch on similar fingerprint recognition technology for integration with mobile payments via near field communications (NFC).
Word of the deal comes from David Murray, former head of the Commonwealth Bank and a lead investor in Microlatch.
Mr Murray said the company had an agreement with the notoriously secretive Apple to develop fingerprint technology for use in near-field communications applications.
Microlatch has patented fingerprint identification technology that meets banking security standards without the need for central processing or storage; a process Mr Murray described as "self-registering".
Details on Apple's partnership with Microlatch remain unknown, but it is clear that Apple is interested in fingerprint recognition and mobile payment technology. The company has, however, been employing a "go-slow approach" to mobile payments as it examines the potential of the technology and toys with various options for implementing it.
NFC has been a relatively frequent topic for rumors in relation to the iPhone, with some expecting that it might even make it into the 2011 version of the device. Despite numerous rumors about NFC peaking in early 2011, Apple elected not to include it in the iPhone 4S and even decided against bringing NFC to the redesigned iPhone 5 this year.
Popular Stories
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report.
The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader.
Vapor chamber technology is already used...
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year.
Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
