Apple’s fingerprint reader missing one special touch

Cheers to Apple for opening up its Touch ID fingerprint reader to developers, which was one of the missing links to realizing the value of the biometric technology.

But Apple is still without one important piece that would position its iPhone as a strong authentication device for secure access to both consumer and enterprise Web applications. A piece that could give users more control over their credentials, and get retailers and others out of the password business while subtracting personal data out of back-end servers where lately it has been a sitting duck. And it’s a piece the iPhone-rival Samsung Galaxy S5 shipped in April.