Rumors have been swirling for months now ever since Apple first revealed that it would be unveiling a new iPhone this past June. Now that the rumored September 10th launch date is drawing near, let's take a look at one of the most pervasive rumors out there.

The internet is abuzz with the possibility that the iPhone 5S will come stocked with a rarely-seen feature for a smart phone: a fingerprint sensor. This past week, several images have surfaced that show the home button of the new iPhone with an unidentified addition to its regular frame.

"We've seen a number of images featuring the purported components of the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, however, a new leak that claims to feature the home button flex cable part of the iPhone 5S in a way confirms that the home button would do more than just bringing users back to the phone's home screen," reports gadgets.ndtv.com.

Part and parcel with hopes for a fingerprint sensor is the rumor that the home button will now be convex and will be made out of sapphire. Though it sounds like pure speculation at this time, there is actually some sound reasoning behind the gossip.

"A convex home button could be more easily scratched, so a harder material [such as sapphire] is required," 9to5Mac said. "With last year's AuthenTec acquisition and the recent rumors and evidence, it seems likely that a fingerprint sensor will be this year's 'Siri.'"

What's the big deal about the acquisition of AuthenTec? Well, for those in the tech community the connection is obvious, but for the rest of us, the relevance of Apple's purchase of such a company can be summed up in one word: patents.

"Rumors Apple was adding fingerprint technology to its flagship mobile device first started swirling last July, when the Cupertino tech giant acquired mobile security firm AuthenTec, which hold a number of fingerprint-scanning patents," writes UPI.

Will the new iPhone have fingerprint sensing technology? We will not know definitively until it's finally released.  But, with Apple sending out invitations to a media event on the rumored release date of September 10th, chances are good that by this time next week our thumbs will be used for a lot more than just twiddling.