Security-conscious smartphone users are given more reasons by Apple to snap up the iPhone 5S and the rumoured iPhone 6 on release dates - stronger security features.

As indicated in the fresh batch of patent approvals obtained by the tech giant, the upcoming iPhone models will enjoy enhanced security protocols - both in communicating with other devices and in recovering forgotten pass codes.

The first patent, per reports by Apple Insider, showed that Apple enginners have devised ways for two iPhones, for example, to establish a secure communication bridge "by using an image to generate a digital handshake key."

Employing existing wireless technology like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the invention will allow the pairing of two different iPhone models for sharing of files such as documents and media contents.

The connection, however, is shielded from possible breach as users "must generate and type in an identical pass phrase to gain access to another device's content."

The technology will also use the iPhone camera, in which a chip will be installed to enable the image detection of the handshake key. The same key could be embedded on an iPhone's casing, which the chip will decode following the capture of a picture.

"If there are multiple devices in a captured image, a device can intelligently parse out which is requesting a key through location, distance and content displayed onscreen," the Apple Insider report said.

Depending on users' preference, two iPhone paired on this method can share all their contents with less worries that undesired interference or hacking could occur, Apple said.

In the second patent, Apple would soon provide a more effective password recovery process using peripheral devices like a power cord, a monitor, a smartphone, a wireless router and even a printer.

These peripherals will serve as password protectors, the patent said, using "a universal unique identifier (UUID) that would allow the computer to know that the person trying to access it was in fact the rightful owner," Apple Insider said.

This new method of password recovery improves on previous schemes that were laden with security holes, Apple said.