Thieves won't be able to sever your finger to unlock the iPhone 5S

Although it’s probably not something that concerns most of us, some individuals are worried that there’s an inherent flaw in the upcoming iPhone 5S’s fingerprint authentication system: a thief could potentially sever your finger and use the appendage to unlock the device. Once inside, they could access protected third party apps and potentially break into one’s bank account.

Walmart to undercut the competition with discounted iPhone 5S, 5C

Walmart will be undercutting the competition with regards to the cost of the new iPhone 5S and 5C. The handsets, scheduled to arrive a week from today, will retail for $189 and $79, respectively, for 16GB variants.

This of course represents a $20 discount off the iPhone 5C and a $10 savings on the budget-minded plastic variant. Neither discount is substantial but they are noteworthy regardless as it is extremely rare to find any sort of price break on Apple products. It’s usually retail partners (often Walmart) that offer these kinds of discounts.

In related news, Walmart also launched a smartphone trade-in program for those in the US. The retailer will accept over 100 different smartphones at more than 3,600 retail locations. Examples of trade-in values include $300 for a working, non-damaged iPhone 5, $175 for a Galaxy S III and $52 for a Galaxy S II.

Apple unveiled two new iPhones during a media event earlier this week and while the flagship phone does offer some unique features like an integrated fingerprint reader and a first-of-its-kind 64-bit mobile processor, most critics expected more innovation from Cupertino. As a result, share value in Apple tanked following the announcement from around just shy of $500 per share to $468 and change as of writing.

The new iPhones are available for pre-order right now and will arrive in customers’ hands on September 20.

Next-gen iPhone said to be 31 percent faster than iPhone 5

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5S is rumored to be more than 30 percent faster than the iPhone 5. Specifically, the next generation A7 chip is said to be 31 percent faster than the A6 that powers the iPhone 5 and the fourth gen iPad according to sources as reported by Fox News anchor Clayton Morris.

Samsung Upstaging iPhone 5S Intro with Smartwatch, Note 3

SamMobile reports that Samsung plans to reveal its Android-powered smartwatch along with the Galaxy Note III during the UNPACKED Episode 2 pre-IFA event on September 4. This combo is expected to upstage Apple which purportedly will introduce the iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone 5C on September 10. The Samsung smartwatch will reportedly be called the Galaxy Gear, AKA the SM-V700.

iPhone 6 concept with touch-sensitive home button and 12MP camera

Created by Arthur Reis, a budding designer who aspires to join the ranks of Jony Ive and Shin Nishibori someday, 3D renderings of the iPhone 6 imagine a handset that looks largely identical to iPhone 5 (think: anodised aluminium casing with chamfered edges), but an impressive 20 per cent slimmer at just 6.1mm thick.