Over the past few months we have heard a lot of rumors that the next generation iPhone could come with a fingerprint sensor under its Home button. Back in July last year the company acquired AuthenTec, a security software and fingerprint sensor chip company. It was reported that AuthenTec’s patent portfolio was what drove Apple to acquire it, the portfolio could mean fingerprint scanners on future Apple devices. We then reported in September last year that AuthenTec was rumored to cut off all of its non-Apple customers in 2013. An SEC filing from last year revealed that Apple was looking in to 2D fingerprint sensors for use in Apple products. There obviously has been no confirmation from either Apple or AuthenTec, so take all of this with a grain of salt.
A new job opening at Apple for a Software Engineer in Melbourne, Florida hints that the new hire will become part of the team that AuthenTec already has in Florida. The position is based at Apple’s Melbourne Design Center, which is located near Florida’s Space Coast. The job requires the Software Engineer to write low-level control firmware for sensor ICs built at the Design Center. Functions of the sensor include gain control, calibration, array control and security which is geek talk for working fingerprint scanners that are expected to make their way in to future Apple devices.
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