IPhone 5S Features, Release Date: What The Fingerprint Scanner Means To Your Phone's Security

Apple announced the release of the iPhone 5S with a new capabilities never before seen on in the tech giant's smartphone roster.

The new iPhone 5S will come with a 500ppi fingerprint sensor right in on its home button, but what does it mean for your phones security?  Who will be able to unlock the phone?  Luckily, Apple answered all those questions for you. 

"Users will be able to simply touch their home buttons (rather than swipe the screen) to unlock their iDevice, but more importantly, Touch ID can be used to authenticate your iTunes purchases," TechCrunch reports.

It should also be noted that Apple confirmed they won't be sharing your fingerprints with third parties.  The fingerprint data will reportedly be encrypted and come with 360-degree readability, so it does not matter how you hold your thumb to the scanner; your iPhone will be able to read it no matter what angle you place your digit.

"The home button is now made of sapphire glass to reduce the potential for damaging one of the 5S's most notable features, and it's bounded by a steel "detection ring" that determines when your finger is on the home button and fires up the Touch ID sensor.  Touch ID is also capable of keeping tabs of multiple different fingerprints..." TechCrunch reports.

Some iPhone users may not be interested in using the fingerprint scanner to lock their smartphones.  No worries! Like all things iPhone, the new lock mode will be optional.

The iPhone 5S features include the same same 4-inch Retina display and chamfered diamond-cut edges, with a new A7 processor.  The phone will also come equipped with Apple's new M7 chip, "which contains all the motion-tracking hardware Apple needs to make its iWatch a reality," IBT Times reports.

The iPhone 5S will 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299 and 64B for $399 on-contract, and will be released on Sept. 20.  It is not available for pre-order.