The biometric recognition technology Face ID was first introduced in 2017 with Apple's iPhone X and is still very popular today. Now a new patent has been discovered.
It is considered the most secure authentication method - competing products are said to be nowhere near as good in comparison. Apple's facial recognition is now present in two iPhone and one iPad generation. More iPad and iPhone models will follow in autumn 2019. According to a new patent, Face ID could also find its way onto Mac devices at some point. Apple's patent application granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office refers to a more intelligent version of Face ID. This is to be integrated into Mac devices and have some cool features. The Face ID module is of course placed in the camera level of the MacBook. According to the patent description, it would include two particularly useful features that previous iOS devices do not have. Firstly, it would prevent automatic sleep mode, as the module would not ignore constant movements. If a user sits in front of their device without using it, it would activate power saving mode - depending on the setting, within a few minutes of inactivity.
iPhone and iPad could also benefit from this
Face ID would not allow this process. Whether the feature is useful depends, of course, on the user's situation. The second useful function would be to automatically "wake up" the device. Apple describes the process as follows. If the device is in power-saving mode, Face ID would still carefully monitor its surroundings. If the user approaches the device to turn it on, Face ID would register this in advance and take over the process automatically. Of course, entering a password for authentication would generally not be necessary. The Mac would then be ready for use straight away. Apple could also add this function to future iPad and iPhone models - although Cupertino uses the term computer, there is a sentence in the description that includes tablets and smartphones. Whether the technology will ever be implemented in this or another form remains to be seen, of course. It is not uncommon for many such ideas to never make it into finished products. But: Since the iPhone and iPad are delivered with Face ID, the technology cannot be ruled out in Mac devices in the long term. Apple AirPods with wireless charging case on special offer on Amazon – only for a limited time
