Along with Photoshop Touch for iPad 2, Adobe today officially announced ‘Primetime’ this morning. Primetime is a mashup of its video publishing, analytics and advertising platforms which aims to provide end to end video solutions for video publishers. Viewers on all four major platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS and Android will be able to use the output and Adobe specifically mentions that it will work on Apple’s native video, without requiring any tricks.
The Financial Times reports that Intel is expecting its 22nm Ivy Bridge processors to be delayed until June, according to Executive Vice-President of Intel and Chairman of Intel China Sean Maloney.
Intel expects its next-generation microprocessors to go on sale eight to 10 weeks later than initially planned, according to Sean Maloney, executive vice-president of Intel and chairman of Intel China.
In his first interview to discuss Intel’s business in China, Mr Maloney told the Financial Times that the start of sales of machines equipped with Ivy Bridge – the 22nm processor set to succeed Sandy Bridge in notebooks this year – had been pushed back from April. “I think maybe it’s June now,” he said.
Digitimesoriginally reported the delay, but V-R Zone said it was only for certain dual core chips that would most likely not affect Apple’s products. From the comments above, it seems the delay is broader than expected.
The bankrupt Chinese company that sold Apple the ‘IPAD’ name only to claim it was deceived by Apple’s secret IP Application Development subsidiary is now suing Apple in its own back yard, according to the WSJ.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California in Santa Clara County on Feb. 17, but previously unreported, claimed that Apple had committed fraud when it used a company set up by one of its law firms, called IP Application Development Ltd., to purchase the iPad trademark from Proview on Dec. 23, 2009 for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000).
Proview’s point of view?
In emails seen by The Wall Street Journal, a representative purportedly of IP Application Development told Proview that it wanted to acquire the iPad name because it was an abbreviation of its company’s title, and that its future products wouldn’t compete with Proview’s products.
Proview is bankrupt and its products look like cheap original iPad knockoffs (right). A judge in Shanghai denied Proview’s motion to ban sales of iPad in the city earlier today.
Analyst John Kinnucan is charged with two counts of securities fraud, two counts of conspiracy, and insider trading for leaking sales numbers from Apple, reportedReuters. The lawsuits against the analyst were filed in a U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and he was arrested on Thursday.
Kinnucan received tips from Apple’s suppliers SanDisk and Flextronics so he could leak sales numbers and forecasts to hedge funds. One SanDisk executive, Don Barnetson, is also in court on counts for insider trading. Kinnucan leaked the secret information about the iPhone’s sales between 2008 and 2010, and he would get the information by bribing suppliers. He is rumored to have earned $1.58 million for leaking Apple’s trade secrets.
Between 2008 and 2010, investigators said, Kinnucan paid insiders with cash, trips and other benefits to get secret information, including sales trends for Apple Inc’s iPhone. Kinnucan then funneled the information to hedge fund traders in California and New York in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, investigators said.
Kinnucan’s arrest is part of a bigger crack down on insider trading within hedge funds. Over 60 people were already arrested during the operation, dubbed “Operation Perfect Hedge,” including a Flextronics executive for leaking iPhone sales numbers.
Apple’s Chief Information Officer Niall O’Connor visited Bangalore in January, according to The Economic Times, and the senior officials at technology firms Infosys and Wipro made sure he received the full-treatment upon landing in India.
Apple is supposedly looking to “quadruple the amount it spends in India, making it all the more covetous for Infosys and Wipro.” The CIO will decide which Indian companies get software outsourcing orders and maintenance work worth about $100 million USD (490 crore), which is roughly 20 percent of the Cupertino, Calif.-based Company’s total global outsourcing spending.
O’Connor started with Apple in 1991 and took the reigns as CIO in 1997. Two of his primary achievements include the global deployment of SAP software and the development of a full-suite of retail systems for Apple…
We had some time to talk to a well-connected developer at Macworld who was building an app that— among other capabilities— includes NFC reading for the purpose of mobile transactions. We were obviously curious why they would do that, noting that third party NFC readers for iPhone were not popular (aside from the recently announced Moneto, above). The developer told us that he had no hardware knowledge, but he had spoken to Apple iOS engineers on multiple occasions, and they are “heavy into NFC.”
I asked how confident he was, and he said, “Enough to bet the app development on.”
This is not the first we have heard that iPhone 5 would have NFC, however. Besides the deluge of ideas Apple has patented with NFC, the New York Times said pre-iPhone 4S that an upcoming iPhone would have NFC. While it did not turn out to be the iPhone 4S, it could be the one coming up.
(Moneto again)
The question is now: Who will Apple partner with for its payment systems? Over the weekend we received some hints… Expand Expanding Close
A patent application published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office earlier today reveals Apple is flirting with the idea of a universal touchscreen controller capable of controlling multiple devices including a “television, a video tape player, a video disk player, a stereo, a home control system, or a computer system.” The patent application is titled “Apparatus and Method to Facilitate Universal Remote Control” and was filed Sept. 30, 2011.
The patent application’s background covers many of the issues with current controllers for televisions and the devices mentioned above. It noted current universal remotes are “complex to operate” and unable to adapt to incorporate every command or control functionality supported by a device or future device. It also mentions the fact that users are often “confronted with multiple” remotes, which is the classic “table full of remotes” scenario described by Steve Jobs when talking about the Apple TV at D8. The patent application explained:
I think the Globe and Mail was the first to report that RIM’s beleaguered CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out – moved upstairs to the boardroom. The strangest thing about the story, and really the past few years, is the total denial by the leadership that Blackberry is in a death spiral.
Research In Motion Ltd.’s new chief executive officer says the company is doing everything right and does not need a change in strategy, and must instead focus on harnessing its talent to improve the BlackBerry and revive sales.
“It’s a fantastic growth story and it’s not coming to an end,” Mr. Heins said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “What you will see with me is rigour and flawless execution.”
When asked whether he thought the appointment of Ms. Stymiest as chair and himself as CEO would be enough to satisfy investors, Mr. Heins retorted, “Change to what? Change for what?”
He continued, “I mean, what’s the objective of a change? We’ve made a lot of changes in the past 18 months. Not changes, but also evolution. I changed a lot of my management team, in hardware, software … I’ve trained a lot of other people in the last four years. What do you think I did? … We didn’t stand still in the last 18 months, we did our homework. And I think we will complete our homework soon.”
Even in appointing a current co-COO, who looks even less charismatic than either of the two people he replaces (video below), RIM is hedging its bets on Blackberry 10/QNX, which it won’t release until the end of 2012 on phones —if it bucks recent trends and ships on time. Heins joined RIM just as the iPhone was released in 2007, and he has seen the company’s market share dive.
With an announcement tomorrow in New York City and an earnings call on Jan. 24, Apple Inc., has reached an all-time high of $429.47 per share on today’s market, and it closed at $429.11. Being up more than four points today, Apple is continuing to close in on a $400B market cap and sits at just $398.70B at closing.
Apple is expected to have had a record breaking Q1, which will be reported in an earnings call with CEO Tim Cook on Jan. 24. With the help of holiday sales, some analysts predict Apple sold 5 million Macs and around 30 million iPhones.
Tomorrow’s media event in New York City also added to today’s stock frenzy. Apple is expected to make a major announcement in the textbook industry. There have been many reports that Apple made the necessary partnerships with publishers, and may even launch its own textbook creation tool — which Ars Technica called a “GarageBand for e-books.” Apple teased the event as an education announcement. Per usual, 9to5Mac will be covering both events. Tomorrow’s event begins at 10 a.m., so stick with us for coverage. Any final predictions?
Apple currently has only one other Apple Store in New York City outside of Manhattan that is located in Staten Island. Things could change, however, according to a new report from NY Daily News that clamed retail developer Yeheskel Elia is working with Apple to bring an “iconic store” to Queens, New York. The specific location of the store would be Austin Street in Forest Hills.
Nothing is official because Elia and Apple are still working on more details. Elia said he would do anything to bring an Apple Store to the bustling area. If a deal is reached, Elia said a store could open in under a year. Several months ago, an Apple broker also reached out to Elia regarding the new store.
The deal would be a “kick in the pants” to the neighboring rival Brooklyn who, with borough president Marty Markowitz and local hipster legions, has campaigned nonstop for an Apple Store for years.
When NY Daily News reached out for comment from Apple, in a typical fashion they responded, Apple has “made no announcements” regarding a NYC store outside of Manhattan (sorry Staten Island).
Intel is looking to use its recently unveiled Medfield chips in the iPhone, according toThe Telegraph. In the report, Dave Whalen, vice president of Intel’s architecture group, told The Telegraph that Intel has talked to Apple and other manufacturers about using the new Medfield chips in iOS devices. Specifically, Whalen said as iOS continues to grow, “We talk to everybody.” Intel is also looking to Android and Windows Phone to use the new chips.
It is worth noting that it is highly unlikely Apple would move to Intel chips in iOS devices, even though the company uses Intel in Macs. Since the iPhone 4, Apple has continued to use its own line of processors—with the help of Samsung. The iPhone 4 was graced with the A4, the iPad 2 had the A5, and most recently— the iPhone 4S got the A5. The iPad 3 is rumored to get the quad-core A6 (mock up on the right), and going off Apple’s recent timeline, the iPhone 5 will most likely have the A6.
The most unique aspect about the Medfield chip is that it is a single core, unlike Intel’s previous chips. The Medfield uses the ARM chips’ strategy, in pulling all processes onto a single chip, which helps to save battery life and other things. For now, it looks Apple will most likely stick with its own proprietary chips. Samsung recently opened a factory in Texas for developing the A5 chip, showing Apple is committed to producing its own goods. Therefore, it is interesting that Intel is trying to make a move.
The United States Patent & Trademark Office published an Apple patent application today (via PatentlyApple) detailing new 3D GUI concepts and touch-free, motion sensing gestures that would allow you to simply wave your hand over a device equipped with proximity sensors. This follows a patent application published in July that explores similar 3D gestures and user-interfaces, and another in September detailing 3D display and imaging technology that could lead to Kinect-like gestures on future Apple products.
The image to the right (larger version is below) shows a 3D UI environment consisting of two sidewalls, a back wall, a floor, and a ceiling. As you can see, 2D objects are posted to the back and sidewalls, while 3D objects rest on the floor of the environment. The patent mentions a “snap to” feature that appears to allow objects to move from one surface to another by changing the orientation of the 3D environment. In other words, the user’s perspective of the UI, which PatentlyApple said could be imagined as the “view from an imaginary camera viewfinder,” would change when rotation of the device is detected by its gyro sensor or accelerometer:
I had a chance to meet with Samsung Storage solutions at CES 2012 this week and got the low down on its new OEM SSDs that Apple tends to buy in large numbers. Samsung and Toshiba are the OEMs that provide the SSDs in MacBook Airs. Samsung’s 470 OEM SSD product is noticeably faster than the Toshiba model that Apple also puts in otherwise identical MacBook Airs. We have talked about the speed difference before and how Air-buyers often will pay a premium for the faster Samsung drives.
Well, the speed difference is about to get even more noticeable. Samsung told me that it sold out of the 470 series OEM SSDs late last year and the company only makes a much faster variety: the 830 series.
How fast is the 830 Series controller/chips? I had a chance to speed test the popular 2.5-inch 830 model late last year when it debuted. Typical speeds were over 400MB/s write and 500MB/s reads (below, left). That is almost twice as fast as the current MacBook Air SSD from Samsung (below, right), which itself is significantly faster than Toshiba’s SSD.
Samsung stopped short of announcing it is shipping the 830s to Apple, but the company confirmed it ran out of 470s a while ago and all of its SSD customers were receiving the updated 830 series. Samsung also confirmed that Apple is still a customer.
Today I ventured to the Las Vegas Apple Store to check the speeds of the MacBook Airs. I checked a new 128GB MacBook Air right out of the box which had the same “APPLE SSD SM128C” listed in System Profiler as my year-old Air. I checked the speed and it is indeed the old disk (same as above, right), which means the new Samsung SSDs haven not hit stores —at least here anyway.
Theoretically, a few things could happen at this point…
Update: Reports that T-Mobile knows Apple’s chipset roadmap are false I’ve confirmed with T-Mobile’s PR department. Ray only said that Apple could choose to use Chips that are AWS compatible, which is obvious.
I had a few minutes this evening between Colbie Cailat songs at T-Mobile’s CES 2012 party to talk to CTO Neville Ray on what the future holds for T-Mobile since the AT&T merger is off. T-Mobile walked away with not only $3 billion but also some AWS spectrum from AT&T.
First, Ray is excited. He talked like someone who has been imprisoned by the merger over the past year, unable to make any long term moves. T-Mobile is still evaluating its long-term options (like LTE) but there is a buzz in the air now. While the parent company Deutsch Telekom gets the $3 billion payoff from AT&T, it seems that there will be big investment over the next few years in the T-Mobile USA subsidy.
On Dec. 19, T-Mobile’s official AT&T breakup release stated what —besides the $3 billion— T-Mobile would get:
As part of the break-up fee, T-Mobile USA will receive a large package of AWS mobile spectrum in 128 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), including 12 of the top 20 markets (Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Baltimore and Seattle).
The UMTS roaming agreement for the U.S. in T-Mobile USA’s favor has a term of over seven years and will allow the company to improve its footprint significantly among the U.S. population and offer its customers better broadband coverage for mobile communications services in the future. Population coverage will increase from 230 million potential customers at present to 280 million. As a result of the agreement with AT&T, coverage will be extended to many regions of the U.S. in which T-Mobile USA previously had neither its own high-speed mobile communications network nor the associated roaming agreements.
That spectrum will allow T-Mobile to light up HSPA+ radio frequency used by the iPhone’s 3G.
Nevada, parts of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest are also seeing some pockets of 1900MHz spectrum refarming for HSPA+. There are other parts of the country T-Mobile can refarm the 1900MHz spectrum but, the focus is on the Pacific Northwest, Nevada, Utah and California for right now from what we’re told. We should emphasize and emphasize greatly that this post does not mean that all of the aforementioned areas are seeing this refarmed spectrum, just pockets inside those areas.
Ray said those networks were not officially lit up (perhaps some tower testing or AT&T roaming confusion happened).
Nevertheless, there is good news for those who want to use an iPhone on T-Mobile’s 3G network…
While Apple does not have a booth or keynote at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company is on the show floor scouting the competition. PaidContent’s Tom Krazit spotted Apple’s head of iOS product marketing Greg Joswiak at Sony’s booth. Joswiak talked to PaidContent, with a grin on his face, and said he was on location to see “How other companies present their products at events such as CES, from things like booth layout and aesthetics to which products are highlighted within a company’s booth.” Interesting.
It is worth noting that Apple has not participated in a trade show since MacWorld 2009, where the company announced iWork ’09, new MacBook Pros, and more. In recent years, Apple has stuck to announcing new products at its own events.
Roaming the floor does not seem like the only thing Apple is doing at CES. At 9to5Mac, we have been independently contacted through email by someone who seems to be seeking information on Apple competitors, including information on what 9to5Mac thinks about the technology being showcased at CES. The contact also wanted to know specifics on how journalists viewed companies’ product marketing practices. This probe certainly sounds similar to Mr. Joswiak’s recent activities on the show floor, right?
We love this add-on to the Mac Mini that turns it into more of a pro-device (and a cube!). The business up front is a DVD-R drive (not sure about BluRay) and an SDXC card reader that complements the one on the back of the mini. On the rear, you get a high power USB source for quick-charging an iPad as well as a few USB 3.0 ports that require separate drivers. Also on the back is an eSATA port for fast external peripheral support as well as two Firewire 800 ports. Inside, there is room for up to a 4TB 3.5 inch hard drive which you can order with the Mini Stack Max or you can bring your own.
This is interesting because it is moving the Mini more toward a pro-like setup.
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OWC has not put a price on the Mac Mini Stack Max but expects them to be available in March. Expand Expanding Close
Inside Applewriter Adam Lashinky at Fortune and Steve Jobs Biography writer Walter Isaacson recently discusseda great story of how Steve Jobs got Corning to (re)invent Gorilla Glass:
..a really great CEO in this country, Wendell Weeks, who runs Corning Glass. Steve Jobs when he does the iPhone decides he doesn’t want plastic, he wants really tough glass on it, and they don’t make a glass that can be tough like they want. And finally somebody says to him, because they were making all of the glass in China for the fronts of the stores, says, “You ought to check with the people at Corning. They’re kind of smart there.” So, he flies to Corning, New York, sits there in front of the CEO, Wendell Weeks, and says, “This is what I want, a glass that can do this.” So, Wendell Weeks says, “We once created a type of process that created something called Gorilla Glass.” And Steve said, “No, no, no. Here’s how you make really strong glass.” And Wendell says, “Wait a minute, I know how to make glass. Shut up and listen to me.” And Steve, to his credit, shuts up and listens, and Wendell Weeks describes a process that makes Gorilla Glass. And Steve then says, “Fine. In six months I want enough of it to make–whatever it is–a million iPhones.” And Wendell says, “I’m sorry, we’ve actually never made it. We don’t have a factory to make it. This was a process we developed, but we never had a manufacturing plant to do it.” And Steve looks at him and says what he said to Woz, 20, 30 years earlier: “Don’t be afraid, you can do it.” Wendell Weeks tells me… Because I flew to Corning, because I just wanted to hear this story. Wendell Weeks tells me, “I just sat there and looked at the guy. He kept saying, ‘Don’t be afraid. You can do this.'”
[audience laughter]
WI: Wendell Weeks said he called his plant in Kentucky that was making glass for LCD screens, and said, “Start the process now, and make Gorilla Glass.” That’s why every iPhone in your pocket and iPad has Gorilla Glass made by Corning. This is the reality distortion field that is, I submit, part and parcel of a guy who doesn’t believe the rules apply to him, even the rule about never cut in line.
AL: And of course Corning uses this in their marketing now, they market Gorilla Glass for other customers.
Fast-forward to today where Corning introduced its Gorilla Glass 2 that is the same strength as the original but at 20 percent thinner to allow for better colors and touch that is more responsive. Alternatively, it is much stronger at the current thickness….
A new report today claimed Apple is gearing up to release a next-generation “iPad 3” with a “full HD display” in March, followed by an “iPad 4” in October. The report came from Asian supply chain watcher DigiTimes who cited Taiwanese industry sources again. Digitimes’ record has been more than a little shaky, especially of late, so approach with caution…
According to the report, iPad 3 will sport a QXGA display (1,536 x 2,048 pixel) and improved battery life, but otherwise hardware specifications will remain largely unchanged. The launch of iPad 3 in March will apparently see the current generation iPad 2 receive a price cut to $399:
The iPad 3 will come with a QXGA (1,536×2,048 pixels) display and longer battery life although its other hardware specifications may not be so amazing as expected, said the sources. But Apple will take the advantage of the iPad 3 launch to slash the price of its iPad 2 to US$399, the sources claimed.
DigiTimes claimed that Apple will drop another 9.7-inch iPad dubbed “iPad 4” by October. The device is expected to have “killer applications,” all-around upgraded hardware specifications, and “integrated applications so as to compete with an array of Android-, Wintel- or WoA (Windows on ARM)-based tablet PCs.” Previously the publication claimed Apple had a 7.85-inch iPad in the works for a late 2012 launch, which their sources later claimed would no longer be happening… Expand Expanding Close
Corning Inc., announced today its plan to unveil Gorilla Glass 2 at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, and the company said more product details would be made available Jan. 9.
The Corning, N.Y.-based company plans to “showcase the critical role of highly engineered specialty glass in addressing emerging trends” at CES 2012. Some of the highlights include increased functionality from smaller form factors; connected devices in new applications; touch technology; and, large-format design aesthetics.
However, the main attraction to the Corning booth will be the introduction of Gorilla Glass 2, which is the next generation of the damage-resistant cover glass found on practically every consumer electronic today. CES attendees will have access to Corning experts and products featuring the latest Gorilla Glass applications.
The timely debut of Gorilla Glass 2 comes just before the rumored early-2012 launch of the iPad 3, as well as the rumored summer-to-fall launch of the iPhone 5, leaving room for Apple to include the latest technology on its upcoming devices.
Although not confirmed, it is worth speculating whether Corning supplied Apple, before today’s announcement, with Gorilla Glass 2 for iOS device production. The idea does not seem far-fetched considering the nature of both companies’ relationship…
Broadcom Corporation is a global innovator for wired and wireless communications, and today the company announced its first family of 802.11ac chips designed for a broad range of product segments.
The chips, also called “5G Wi-Fi” by Broadcom, do not correlate with 3G and 4G cellphone networks. The BCM4360, BCM4352, BCM43526 and BCM43516 chips improve Wi-Fi’s range and are significantly more efficient. Perhaps, the most tantalizing aspect is that the 5GHz-based technology has speeds beyond 1Gbps and is currently in the high-end range of consumer Ethernet.
Apple currently uses Broadcom Wi-Fi Chips in its Mac line and in its iOS devices, including iPad and iPods. The latest MacBook Airs have the Broadcom BCM4322 Intensi-fi® Single-Chip 802.11n Wi-Fi Transceiver. Maybe we will see something a little faster later this year…
A series of patents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office today (via PatentlyApple) suggested Apple is attempting to own as many Thunderbolt related trademarks and patents as possible. This is despite most being under the impression the technology is an open collaboration between Intel and Apple.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of today’s patents is the possibility Apple might bring Thunderbolt to iOS devices. According to one of the patents published today, “a connection may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices.”
The benefit of supporting Thunderbolt connections on iOS devices, at least initially, would be to provide faster recharging and data transfer. It is unclear from the patents whether an iOS device would act as a Thunderbolt host machine, like a MacBook, or simply as a supported peripheral. As PatentlyApple pointed out, Apple would have to reengineer the Thunderbolt “connector to be flat enough to fit a USB-type of device slot.”
Apple is already experimenting with next-generation 30-pin connectors that would potentially support high-speed Thunderbolt-like connections. A patent originally filed in 2009, and reported byPatentlyApple in April 2011, showed that Apple is working on a new hybrid connector for iOS devices to support dual-lane Display Port technology (same as Thunderbolt).
UPDATE: The Guardianreported tonight, Jan. 4, that Apple is “believed to have ruled itself out of the running” for the rights to stream Premier League football content.
Despite much speculation from media outlets, such as The Daily Mail, it seems Apple has not even discussed the idea of bidding, and the company is unlikely to make an offer after the conclusion of this season.
Furthermore, The Guardian said Apple’s primary competitor in the streaming device market, Google, is “considered a more likely bidder.”
Reports surfaced late Jan. 3 claiming Apple wants to stream Premier League football content to its Apple TV service.
The Premier League will consider bids for next season after the rights to screen football games expires at the end of the 2011 to 2012 season.
The Daily Mailreported Jan. 3 that both Apple and Google are interested in purchasing rights to Premier League content for their respective Apple TV and Google TV services. Such streaming content is considered premium and could help solidify Apple TV in the United Kingdom while boosting iPad sales.
Apple’s U.K. iTunes subscription infrastructure is secure, but Apple TV is struggling due to a lack of streaming apps offered within the country. Apple TV in the U.K. presently offers a subscription package to Major League Baseball. Therefore, a Premier League app would compliment the available selection considerably.
The Mail did not quote sources but said the involvement of Apple and Google would “give the [Premier League] a hugely competitive market at a time when the price of other TV sports rights are in decline.”
Various reports throughout the year claimed LG is providing the television behind the Apple HDTV. However, nothing conclusive has surfaced.
As far as the big display makers are concerned, Apple’s relationship with LG is probably the strongest. LG makes iPod Touch and iPhone Retina Displays, some iPad displays, and Apple secured a $500 million dollar investment in LG displays in 2009. The net investment was a temporary exclusive on panels for the 27-inch display that Apple’s iMacs and Thunderbolt Displays now use. Sony also makes OLEDs, but it does not have a strong relationship with Apple – at least as far as displays are concerned. The other big OLED maker is Samsung, and it is currently tangled with Apple in patent disputes.
With that said, look at the things that will be shown at the Consumer Electronic show. They have a 4 mm bezel -that is half the thickness of an iPhone 4S- and weighs in at a paltry 16.5-pounds. In addition, things like “1,000 times faster than LED/LCD displays” and “infinite contrast ratio” makes this sound like one of the best displays of 2012.
(Full sized images and the press release are below.):
Much like the somewhat controversial face unlock feature built-in to Google’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, a new patent application reveals Apple too is working on similar, but more advanced user detection solutions. As PatentlyApplepointed out, Apple noted these recognition systems could land in a future iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or MacBook.
The basics of the patent entitled “Low Threshold Face Recognition,” is to allow a user to unlock a device—such an iPhone or iPad—using facial recognition. Apple’s solution could allow the device’s camera to recognize the user even when the device is in sleep mode. In other words, the device’s camera would remain active when sleeping, detect the user, and unlock the device without having to press the sleep/wake button. This could, in theory, allow a user to bypass the current Slide to Unlock feature.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the system would be the ability for the device’s settings to be customized depending on the user. For example, when detecting a specific user, iOS could set personalized wallpapers, notification settings, and custom configurations for apps. This would provide multiple user logins, allowing iOS users to easily share a device among family or coworkers.
Apple’s system would differ from other face recognition systems by ignoring face biometrics. As PatentlyApple explained, “The face recognition techniques are based on a simple, weighted difference map, rather than traditional (and computationally expensive) correlation matching.” Apple’s system could detect “high information portions” of a face such as the eyes, mouth, or the tip of a nose. In addition, an “orange-distance filter” could be applied to determine variations in skin tone and detect the “likely presence” of a user. This could detect the distance between the device and the user’s face, as well as the user’s “level of attentiveness.”
In 2010, before the iPad launch, The Wall Street Journal reported Apple was experimenting with the ability to recognize individual users with the device’s camera. Today’s patent was originally filed in 2009.
