Face ID

I’ve argued for years that moving beyond passwords is something that urgently needs to happen from both a security and usability perspective.

The technical framework to make it possible to abandon passwords – WebAuthn – was agreed back in 2018, and Apple added support for it in Safari last year. Adoption is as yet close to zero, but all that looks set to change, thanks to the latest move by Apple …

In the years ahead, passwords, as we know them, will become a thing of the past. However, that change won’t happen overnight and will take a concerted effort from lots of different parties, including the major tech giants. At WWDC, Apple announced how it’s moving toward a more secure and easy-to-use passwordless authentication powered by WebAuthn and Face ID/Touch ID with the preview of passkeys in iCloud Keychain.

There’s growing evidence pointing to a smaller notch in the iPhone 13, and a new report today says that a smaller Face ID chip will play a role in making this possible.

Reports of a smaller notch in this year’s iPhone lineup date back to January, with additional evidence emerging since then …

Apple has officially released iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 to the public, bringing a major change to the integration between iPhone and Apple Watch. For the first time, you can now use your Apple Watch to unlock your iPhone when you’re wearing a face mask. Here’s how it works.

There have been multiple suggestions that Apple plans to adopt under-screen Touch ID for the iPhone 13, given that masks have greatly reduced the usefulness of Face ID. The company already has a bunch of patents for different ways to pull this off, and has today applied for an interesting new one.

Apple explains that optical fingerprint reading can be unreliable for two reasons, and explains how it would address these …

A new report today echoes earlier ones that this year’s iPhones – possibly named the iPhone 12S – will have a smaller notch.

We’re expecting the design of this year’s models to be very similar to the iPhone 12, but a MacOtakara report earlier in the month suggested that Apple would manage to shrink the screen notch …

Earlier this year, before the announcement of the iPhone 12, Apple surveyed some users about how they use the USB power adapter that used to come in the iPhone box. The company is once again asking for the opinion of its consumers, this time to find out if iPhone users are unsatisfied with Face ID and if they use the USB cable that comes with every iPhone.

We’re seeing a growing number of face recognition bans introduced around the world as local and national legislators respond to growing public unease over the privacy implications.

We’ve seen bans on public agencies or police departments using face recognition technology, and now one US city has gone even further, extending a ban to private companies too …

Some iPhone and iPad models feature Face ID, which allows users to unlock the device through advanced facial recognition. While Face ID is not yet available on any Mac, 9to5Mac found references to the TrueDepth camera on macOS Big Sur, which suggests Apple is working to bring facial recognition to its computers.

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A neat new feature available for developers to build into websites with the Safari 14 beta is the ability to bypass username and password fields with Face ID or Touch ID offering a much more seamless experience to users.

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It’s tough out there, people. Thousands have been infected with the novel Coronavirus in China, millions are under lockdown, airplanes are grounded, and borders tightened. It’s like we’ve gone back to the bubonic plague — or more accurately, gone back to the iPhone 5s!

Let me explain… I know it’s not too common for people to be out and about wearing masks in public in the United States, but it’s fairly common over here in Asia. The thinking behind it is actually to prevent you, the mask-wearer, from spreading your diseased germs to other, healthy, happy people. So if you show up in Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur or Taipei or any other Asian city and begin sneezing without a mask on, there’s a good chance you’ll get a nasty side-eye from a local.

The Coronavirus, obviously, is different: doctors are recommending people wear masks to prevent coming into contact with the “novel” virus, thus keeping yourself safe. But the masks cover a huge portion of your face (even a big face, like mine) basically invalidating Face ID. I know, I know, this sounds very trivial, and it is. But trivial and annoying have long conspired together to cause great anger and frustration.

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San Francisco accidentally made it illegal for city employees to use iPhones with Face ID after it banned the use of face recognition technology in May. The city had to amend the law last week to make iPhones legal to use.

San Francisco isn’t the only city to have discovered this issue with bans intended to outlaw the indiscriminate use of face recognition on the street for public and corporate surveillance…

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One of the biggest question marks over future iPhones is whether Apple will stick with Face ID, or instead adopt under-display Touch ID.

Apple is continuing to work on both forms of biometric security and was today awarded a patent for one approach to a fingerprint sensor which could be embedded into a display…

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