Here's the challenge: To be incorporated as part of a regular start-up routine, fingerprint ID systems must be at least as easy and dependable as the pass codes they are meant to replace.

    Which is why I finally gave up trying to use Apple's (AAPL) TouchID system on my iPhone 5S.

    Not that I'm a good test case. After 64 years of paper cuts, match burns, scarring and general wear and tear, the ridges on my left thumb are nearly worn off. I have trouble registering my print on TouchID, and have to re-register it nearly every day or my iPhone will forget who I am. (I gather from the comments on Apple's support boards that I'm not the only one having these problems.)

    I mention all this because a report Monday in SamMobile claims to have confirmed that Samsung's next flagship smartphone -- the Galaxy S5 -- will not only feature a fingerprint recognition system like Apple's, but one that will work better than TouchID.

    "Apple and HTC have already implemented fingerprint sensors into their devices," writes SamMobile's FaryaabS, "but none of their mobile devices use the sensor to its full potential, or like how Samsung is using in its upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5."

    I can't dispute this. There are hundreds of competing fingerprint recognition systems -- 670 participants registered 2,810 algorithms in this year's Fingerprint Verification Contest -- and we don't know which (if any) Samsung is using.

    But when Apple purchased AuthenTec for $356 million in July 2012 -- more than it paid for any acquisition since NeXT -- the biometric company was the world's No. 1 provider of fingerprint verification systems. Its clients included Nokia, LG, HP, Motorola and Samsung.

    Even then, Apple waited more than a year before it was ready to put a fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S.

    It's possible that Samsung's technology is way ahead of Apple's. But given the timing, it feels like they're playing catch-up.

    指纹识别系统要想成为常规启动程序的一部分，其至少得跟它打算取代的解锁密码一样简单且可靠。而这正是眼下的挑战所在。

    我之所以最终放弃在自己的iPhone 5S上使用苹果（Apple）的TouchID指纹识别系统原因也就在这里。

    当然，我可能不是一个很好的例子。毕竟，这64年来，我左手的大拇指被纸张划伤、被火柴烧伤、留下疤痕、长期被磨损，指纹几乎全被磨掉了。我很难在TouchID上注册自己的指纹，而且几乎每天都必须重新注册一次，不然我的iPhone就会忘记我是谁。（我上苹果官网客户支持留言板收集了一下用户的评论，发现不是只有我一个人遇到了这个问题。）

    我之所以提到这件事，是因为本周一SamMobile网站上有报道称，它已经证实，三星（Samsung）的下一款智能手机旗舰机型——GalaxyS5不仅将同苹果iPhone 5S一样配备指纹识别系统，而且它的系统还要比苹果的TouchID更胜一筹。

    SamMobile 的FaryaabS 写道：“苹果和HTC已经在自己的设备上配备了指纹传感器，但它们的移动设备都未能充分发挥指纹传感器的潜力，而三星即将推出的Galaxy S5却做到了”

    我无法反驳上面这种说法。目前已有数百种指纹识别系统在相互竞争——在今年的指纹识别大赛（Fingerprint Verification Contest）上，共有670名参赛者携2,810种算法参赛——我们不知道三星使用的是其中哪一种（假如它使用的的确是这2,810种算法中的一种的话）。

    不过，苹果于2012年7月斥资3.56亿美元（这是自收购NeXT以来苹果最大手笔的一次收购）收购生物计量公司AuthenTec时，后者是全球第一的指纹验证系统供应商，客户包括诺基亚（Nokia）、LG、惠普（HP）、摩托罗拉（Motorola）以及三星。

    即便如此，苹果还是等了一年多，才做好了准备，把指纹传感器装到了iPhone 5S上。

    有可能三星的技术遥遥领先于苹果。但考虑到三星选择的时机，它似乎是在追赶苹果。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航