2023-08-15 15:20:29
When the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBooks Pro were released at the end of 2021, many people found it strange to Apple add a notch to devices without bringing a version of Face ID together — even though the notch did allow for a larger usable screen area.
As we know, until today, Apple laptops still only use the good old Touch ID, which, according to Tom Boger, vice president of product marketing for Mac and iPad, would be even more practical in this case. Even so, there are still those who dream of the facial recognition system on iPhones and iPads reaching the company’s computers.
And that, to be honest, is no wonder: over the last few years, we’ve seen several rumors that biometric authentication technology was even on the way to Macs; even code referencing the feature was found in macOS Big Sur 11.
Now, it is the turn of (another) patent to shed light on this possibility.
As noted by Patently Applea patent recently registered by the Cupertino giant illustrates a biometric authentication system for Macs that emits patterns of light to verify the user’s identity — that is, Face ID itself. Although it also mentions desktops, the document focuses mainly on laptops — which may indicate a possible arrival of technology to MacBooks.
He also explains the importance of this type of system to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing users’ sensitive information on their computers. These technologies, however, need to consider the physical limitations of the devices:
Due to the limited amount of space available with internal cavities in these computing devices, these authentication schemes must be compact (or have thin profiles) without sacrificing user recognition accuracy.
To address these challenges, the patent suggests a “light pattern recognition module” that can be incorporated into computers. This module must be positioned in a partition adjacent to the display or below it, which can take the form of a circle, an ellipse, a series of polygonal shapes at the same time or a… notch.
The document brings illustrations that imagine a notch with an authentication system like Face ID on both a laptop and a desktop like the iMac — although the all-in-one have enough space on your edges to house this type of component. There is also the possibility of this component being positioned on top of the keyboard, as well as the Touch Bar on the 13″ MacBook Pro (see image above).
Although the number of patents that suggest an arrival of Face ID on Macs is somewhat… suspicious, this type of document should not be interpreted as proof that Apple will even bring the technology to its computers. She filed the application to register this patent in 2021, it is worth noting.
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