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Touch ID is Apple’s fingerprint sensor built-in to the Home button that first debuted with the iPhone 5s. A year later Touch ID became an integral part of Apple Pay that launched just after the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and also came to the iPad Air 2. The first Mac to gain Touch ID was the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in late 2016.

Conflicting reports have been plentiful this year as to how Apple will handle Touch ID with the iPhone 8 or whether face recognition may replace it altogether.

 

 

Windows Hello fingerprint security tests failed on top three laptops

Windows Hello fingerprint security | Microsoft Surface keyboard cover with fingerprint reader

While Windows laptop users like to think they have their own version of Touch ID, it appears not to offer the same level of security. The Windows Hello fingerprint authentication system on the top three laptops to use it has been put to the test by security researchers – and all three failed.

To be fair, the team was carrying out the penetration tests at the request of Microsoft – but it was a Microsoft Surface product that turned out to be easiest to bypass …

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Want Touch ID for Mac with any keyboard? Developer finds a way

After bringing Touch ID to the Mac several years ago with the introduction of the new MacBook Pro in 2016, Apple last year finally launched a standalone version of the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. While this has proven to be a popular choice among Mac users who like the Magic Keyboard design, that’s not everyone.

A new proof of concept shows that it’s actually possible to pull the Touch ID parts out of the standalone Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, giving you what some have referred to as the “Magic Button.”

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Face ID could help protect Afghan allies against US face recognition kit now in Taliban hands

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One of the many worrying developments in the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan is that US face recognition and fingerprint devices and databases have been seized by the Taliban. They were apparently left behind during the hurried withdrawal of US forces, leaving coalition collaborators at risk from reprisals.

However, a human rights organization says there are measures Afghans can take to try to protect themselves, and that Face ID can play a role in this.

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Apple wins patent for in-screen Touch ID and Face ID

Patent for in-screen Touch ID and Face ID

Early rumors about the iPhone 14 suggest that Apple plans to lose the notch next year, with in-screen Touch ID or Face ID two possible ways to achieve this. A patent granted today describes how both forms of biometric authentication could be embedded into the display.

It would even be possible to embed the front-facing camera into the screen, though this is likely to be a later development…

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Poll: Would you prefer an iPhone with Touch ID under the screen or on the power button?

Scam heartrate app is back in the App Store

Rumors about Apple making an iPhone with both Face ID and Touch ID are not exactly new. In fact, they have been around since the iPhone X rumors, even before Apple introduced facial recognition on its devices. But now we want to know: Would you prefer an iPhone with Touch ID under the screen or on the power button?

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Comment: Moving beyond passwords will happen much faster thanks to Apple’s latest move

Moving beyond passwords

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 …

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Apple opens testing for passwordless Face ID future with ‘passkeys in iCloud Keychain’ preview

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.

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Another Apple patent application for under-screen Touch ID, using reflected light

Will iPhone 13 offer under-screen Touch ID

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 …

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WSJ report corroborates that the 2021 iPhones could feature in-screen Touch ID and Face ID

under-display Touch ID

The idea of Apple putting both Touch ID and Face ID into an iPhone has been floating around for several years now. And just earlier this month, we saw a report from Bloomberg saying it could be the 2021 iPhone lineup to get both forms of biometric authentication. Now a new report from WSJ corroborates that this could be the year we see in-screen Touch ID join Face ID on iPhone.

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Qualcomm unveils larger and faster in-screen fingerprint reader, coming to smartphones this year

At CES 2021 today, Qualcomm unveiled a new in-screen fingerprint sensor that it says is 50% faster and 77% larger than its previous technology. The new Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 is expected to find its way to high-end Android flagships this year, and it comes as Apple works to bring Touch ID back to the iPhone.

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Cannot log in to your banking apps on the iPhone? iOS 13 Touch ID bug may be the reason

If you have recently updated to iOS 13 and have found you are unable to log in to some apps like your bank, or 1Password, or other apps that need authentication, we may have the solution. It turns out there is an iPhone iOS 13 bug affecting older iPhones with Touch ID, where the in-app authentication dialog simply doesn’t appear. Here’s the fix…


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Comment: In-screen Touch ID potentially signals a backward step ahead

In-screen Touch ID could be coming next year, but what of Face ID?

In-screen Touch ID could be appearing in iPhones as early as next year, according to a new report today. But while the current report suggests that both Touch ID and Face ID fans will be catered for, that may not remain the case for long.

The debate between the respective fans of Touch ID and Face ID began when Apple launched the iPhone X, the first iPhone to be launched without the fingerprint reader since it made its debut on the iPhone 5S in 2013.

With the iPhone X launch, Apple seemed pretty clear that Face ID was the future of iPhone authentication. It is, says Apple, faster, easier, and more secure than Touch ID…


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