iOS 11 hints at Touch ID on the screen?

Much has been said about the possibility of the iPhone 8 coming with the Touch ID sensor integrated into the screen (or beneath it), and looking at the latest iOS 11 ... things seem to be definitely going in that direction.

iPhone 6S Touch ID button gets too hot to touch?

Cue the "can'ts touch this" soundbite. Each new iPhone launch has been plagued by some sort of antenna-gate, bendgate, or any other "gate" issue; and it looks like the new iPhone 6S might be heading into too hot to handle territory, as some users report their iPhones 6S heating up considerably.

Apple's Touch ID is beginning to wear down?

No matter how hard manufacturers try to make their new products as reliable as they can, customers buying the latest tech can't stop but feel like beta testers. And that's particularly noticeable when there are some drastic changes to a product or some new tech is introduced. Apple has already had their share of mishaps with the "antenna-gate" in the iPhone 4; and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S is something that might be heading in the same direction.

The Touch ID sensor was praised for being highly accurate and being "as it should be done" (instead of those swipable fingerprint sensors we find in other devices like the new Galaxy S5). But an increasing number of users is complaining their Touch ID is beginning to fail ever more frequently. And it looks to be serious, as Apple is working on an update to try and fix this issue.

The "problem" is that while the affected users say they can fix the problem by re-entering their fingerprints, the problems seems to return after a shorter period of time. If the problem was software (for instance, due to the long time adaptive learning the systems uses at each and every fingerprint scan), then reentering the fingerprints should provide at least 5 or 6 more months till the problem returns - like it did originally. But if it's coming sooner, then I suspect it moght have to do with degraded fingerprint readings from the TouchID sensor - in which case any software fix will only be a stop gap solution to try and prevent it from becoming a new "Touch ID-gate"!

If you have an iPhone 5S since launch, have you noticed any increasingly failed Touch ID readings lately?

iPhone 5S Touch ID bypassed with a Latex Fingerprint

It may be one of the most advanced fingerprint sensors of our time, but it didn't take long for a hacker group to crack it, using a technique you've probably seen in movies that was been used - with slight variations - to trick other fingerprint sensors.

The CCC (Chaos Computer Club) showed how it is possible to grab fingerprint and trasnfer it to a thin latex skin that allows you to unlock the iPhone. This is a group that has long battled the fingerprint biometrics, arguing that it's far easier to physically force you to place a finger on the reader than to tell a PIN code - not to mention the legal implications we've talked about before).

For me, it's a simple case of commodity versus security. Do you stop using a key to unlock your doors even though anyone with a bit of training can lockpick it in a matter of seconds or minutes? And not to mention your iPhone is something you usually keep close by and don't leave unattended. If someone is willing to go through all the trouble of getting your fingerprint and duplicate it, they'll might as well drug you and place your finger on the sensor - or torture you to give them your PIN/password. There are no 100% sure methods.

In the end, nothing stops you from using other things harder to replicate: some people have tried it with: toes; cat paws; nipples; nose... and -yep, if you imagined it, someone actually tried it- their penis (no video iof it, we'll have to belive a tweet confirming it).