iPhone 5S - the S stand for security

Rumors of fingerprint scanners and NFC support in Apple's devices trace back to last July when Apple bought mobile security firm AuthenTec for 




$356 million (UK£238 million, UA$346 million).

AuthenTec's specialization was in fingerprint scanning technology, a specialty shared by biosecurity firm Microlatch, which Apple has reportedly also been in talks with since last year.

While fingerprint scanning could be used as added security to unlock a device, it's also rumored to be a key part of the next iPhone's NFC support by asking for fingerprint confirmation to make payments more secure.

Apple's actions speak to its interest in using fingerprint scanning and NFC technology in its devices, and if the rumors are true and the chips are already in production, then we may be looking at a key iPhone 5S security feature.

How this special features stacks up to the Galaxy S4's reported eye scrolling tech, we may not know for a few months. But fingerprints vs. eyeballs could make for an interesting dichotomy between the two firms