Previous rumors indicate that the next generation of iPad including the iPad Air and the iPad Mini will come with Apple’s latest Touch ID fingerprint sensor technology which is currently in use in the iPhone 5s. Of course Apple will implement its newest Touch ID technology in all of its iOS devices however, manufacturing firm TSMC failed to produce enough of the Touch ID sensors leading to the delay of the iPhone 5s shipping after launch. However, a piece of code has been found in the iOS 7.1 package indicating that the upcoming line of iPad will most likely include the Touch ID technology.
A French developer going by the name UNiCORN on Twitter was able to find “a reference to the iPad family in Touch ID’s resources”. The screenshot below shows the piece of code discovered:
iPad Touch ID reference in iOS 7.1
As you can see, BiometricKit framework deals with the Touch ID sensor in the Home button and the plist file in the framework mentions both the iPhone and the iPad where UIDeviceFamily of 1 represents iPhone while UIDeviceFamily of 2 represents iPad.
BiometricKit was first found in the iOS 7 Beta 4 SDK files but was later found to have been removed from iOS 7 Beta 5 SDK. Previously, it was also found that the iOS 7.1 also includes a piece of code hinting at iPad4,3 and iPad4,6.
As of now, the Touch ID is generally used to unlock the device and authorize iTunes purchases however, it can also be used in the future as a solution to a more secured mobile payment method. This is one of the feature that most customers are looking forward to see in the upcoming iPads as the latest iPad Air and Retina iPad mini lacks the Touch ID technology.
Source: @UNiCORN
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