iPad 5 Photo Appears to Show Touch ID for New iPads

With the fall 2013 iPad event less than a week away a new photo appears to show an iPad 5 with a Touch ID fingerprint sensor in place of the traditional home button on current iPad models.

Apple announced Touch ID with the iPhone 5s earlier this year and while some users are experiencing issues using the feature it appears Apple is ready to roll it out to the iPad 5 and according to other rumors and leaked photos the iPad mini 2 as well.

A new photo which is allegedly of the iPad 5 shows the thinner bezels we’ve come to expect and a blurry look at a new home button which looks similar to the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s.

The photo above from CtechCN shows a new home button design and the page title claims, this is the iPad 5 with Touch ID. An earlier leak showed a gold Pad mini 2 with a Touch ID sensor in place, complete with a small gold ring around the home button that wakes the sensor when a user is ready to unlock the device.

CtechCN is the source which also revealed a photo allegedly showing a new home button cable which pointed to a possibility of Touch ID on the iPad

In the short time since the iPhone 5s arrived, users quickly adopted the technology which allows them to rest a finger on the home button and unlock the iPhone 5s. Some users are also already so familiar with the action that they are trying to use Touch ID on the iPad.

I keep trying to unlock my iPad by resting my thumb on the home button…nothing crickets…….

— Turley Muller (@turleymuller) October 5, 2013

It would make sense for Apple to deliver Touch ID technology across the iOS 7 lineup of products as soon as possible. Currently the Touch ID sensor only unlocks the iPhone 5s and allows users to make payments in the App Store, but if it comes to an iPad as well we could see a better case for it allowing multiple users to login, including children with restricted accounts, and possibly even for use in third-party apps.

The iPad 5 will reportedly come with an Apple A7 processor, like the iPhone 5s, and it should use the same 9.7-inch Retina Display as the iPad 4 inside a smaller frame that borrows the iPad mini design.

Rumors point to a fall iPad event on October 22nd and the iPad 5 release date could come as soon as October 31st or November 1st according to reports and predictions.