At least, I don’t think that is the main reason. 

Apple have snapped up a fingerprint scanning company (that was working with Samsung – whoops) and have signed a deal with another. The more of this I’m seeing, I am being drawn to one of the main missing features of iOS (No. not this one), multiple users.

Having more than one iPad in a family, at this point is still a luxury in these economic times. I for one, often find my iPad has been snatched by the girlfriend (less so since she got her first iPhone) and I know this has happened with the fact that my ebay history has gone from laptops and car parts to dresses and shoes (not chauvinism that, its the truth).

Imagine if though, rather than having a picture of the user on the lock screen and sliding to unlock that user, like the mock up above, if the device just knew who was holding it.

Finally, fingerprints on the glass would be a good thing. A passive fingerprint scanning would unlock the device as soon as a finger touched the screen & it would know which user was operating it. This would also add a great security layer and remove the need for pass codes and passwords after ‘sliding to unlock’. Apple would be able to add a new layer of simplicity to interaction with their devices & if you were to lend you iPhone to an un-registered user for instance, it could just give a guest mode with access to calls and Safari.

I’m talking my self in to this as an idea! But I fear this will be a feature for a few years down the line, rather than next year.

As for mobile payments, there is the authentication aspect to consider. That would be a very reassuring level of security, considering how un-secure NFC and RFID are. Don’t believe me on that? Ask Adam Savage. But being able to approve spending using a finger print is the kind of si-fi future we are hurtling towards. I can’t wait!