iPhone 5S pictured with fingerprint sensor

The Apple event is today boys and girls. So suck down one of the very last rumours before the blessed event. Today, care of French site NoWhereElse, the iPhone 5S is not only pictured, but so is the heavily rumoured fingerprint sensor.

What a beauty

It’s a slight upgrade to the existing iPhone 5 and with all iPhone leaks, it’s most likely 100% accurate. Venturebeat managed to sneak out a shot of the iPhone 5S box, which also has the silver fingerprint sensor ring on the packaging.

There’s only one solid hint that points to the fingerprint sensor being real, namely that Apple purchased fingerprint research company Authentec last year, to the tune of US$356-million. We doubt that it’s a fake, or someone is making a massive effort to produce the best-looking fake iPhone boxes ever.

Authentec has an interesting way of capturing fingerprint information. Instead of a camera that records print striations, RF field attenuation is used to rapidly map a fingerprint. In other words, fingerprint information is captured the second the user pushes the Home button. It’s an effective method, and one that Apple has seemingly and seamlessly built into its new device, if it’s more than a rumour that is.

According to a Wall Street Journal report (paywall), the fingerprint sensor ring will be built into two of the “more expensive” iPhone models, so hopefully there’ll be a 32 and 64GB versions of the iPhone 5S. The same article also speculates that Apple’s fingerprint sensor will spark interest in other mobile developers, like Android, to include the same technology in their devices.

Apple’s event kicks off at 7PM tonight (CAT) from Apple’s Cupertino campus. It’s widely expected that Apple will release the upgrade to the iPhone 5, the 5S, as well as budget “colourful” iPhones, the 5C’s. Maybe an iWatch as well? Here’s hoping.