I researched and tested fingerprint biometrics a few years back for an employer.
Short version: Meh.
Long version: Adds no additional security, decreases security in many scenarios, and over the course of a few months actually increases the amount of time spent trying to gain access to devices if you frequently damage your hands with physical work.
Disclaimer: if you have soft, perfect hands that never load firewood or machine metal, you may find this technology does not hamper your access. You will know if you have the right kind of hands if you find you leave beautifully perfect fingerprints all over any glossy items you touch.
When I was watching the presentation I noticed phil schiller, who was introducing it, had a slightly off-kilter grin on his face as if he knew it was already obsolete the minute it leaves the factory. One of the things I love about Apple is the willingness to let their people talk to the public in prominent forums. You can frequently read their discomfort. ( Especially Tim Cook, who tries really hard. )
Schiller more or less admitted in his first paragraph that it wasnāt a very serious barrier. He went on to say that 40% of iphone owners do not use the pass lock at all and this was aimed at getting them to lock their phones. I think Apple knows what problem they are solving with this and it would be complicated to explain. Which has gotten them in trouble in the past. So they are just putting it out there without making any big claims.
I suppose consumer education is important and that is what we are participating in here. The thumb lock on your phone is for convenience only.
I have no idea what actually happens, legally speaking. But, when I sliced off a little bit of the pad of one finger on a mandolin slicer, I ended up at the doctor the next day to remove a bandage that had become stuck to the wound. They ripped it off, and then then had to cauterize. In retrospect it wasnāt major, but I was really freaked out because there are a lot of nerve endings in the tips of fingers. As he was cauterizing, the doctor said that he would have to notify the FBI that my fingerprint changed. I kind of flipped, and he had to explain to my hysterical crying that it was a joke. It was only a joke! It was not a funny joke.
My point is that I doubt any cell phone would be as good as a landline phone at making the one thing a phone is good for. (So my old flip phone behaved as you describe yours behaving.)
Technology is comprised of trade-offs and compromise. Dumb phones arenāt better at the thing phones do, but theyāre better at being portable.
Personally? Iām a pretty big fan of just about all things Apple. Not a fanboy, per se (I have an iPhone 5, but itās my work phoneā¦ when I got my latest new phone, it was an S3), but a fan of the things they do. I like to lust after their gear, even if I donāt actually end up buying it (due to cost constraints, walled garden limitations, etc)
