As cool as the fingerprint reader is on the iPhone 5s, it’s not perfect. We have, on several occasions, complained about the accuracy of Touch ID seemingly ‘fading’ over time, and a number of 5s owners have turned out to Apple’s support forums to voice their disdain as well.
Luckily, it sounds like there may be light at the end of the tunnel. AppleInsider is reporting this morning that the Cupertino company is currently preparing a software update that will improve the fingerprint recognition experience of Touch ID, and possibly fix the ‘fade’ issue…
“A source familiar with Apple’s development plans said the company is well aware of early adopter issues that many iPhone 5s users are experiencing with Touch ID, the fingerprint recognition feature introduced last year after acquiring AuthenTec in 2012.
After launching iPhone 5s last fall, Apple has continued to work with the original AuthenTec team to improve its recognition software and will release an update relatively soon, the source confidently reported.”
Unfortunately, ‘relatively soon’ is the only time frame the site was given for the update. So we don’t know if Apple plans to include the Touch ID improvements in iOS 7.1—which is expected to land next month—or if they will be wrapped up in a separate iOS 7.0.x or 7.1.x release.
Issues regarding Touch ID surfaced shortly after the iPhone 5s was released last fall, with some users reporting an increasing number of failed scan attempts shortly after programming in their fingerprints. Many have found temporary relief by rescanning the troubled fingerprint.
Apple has yet to comment on the Touch ID complaints, but it’s had its been rather busy responding to other issues. Last week it posted an update with a patch for a dangerous SSL bug, and earlier this year it promised users that it was working on a fix for random crashing in iOS 7.
To learn more about how Touch ID works, click here.