Face ID was first officially unveiled by Apple at its September 2017 iPhone event, allowing individuals to securely unlock their devices thanks to a newly designed facial recognition sensor. A recent patent filed by the company with the European Patent Office shows that the system might become just a bit more advanced, taking into account retinal scanning. The newly discovered patent also makes references to a stand-alone keyboard containing a built-in Touch Bar with Touch ID.
A patent doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Apple will be implementing new technology into its lineup. Companies commonly patent ideas for the sake of holding intellectual property close, but it is fascinating to learn that Apple is looking at alternative biometric authentication options for its users. Face ID makes a 3D model of a users face and compares it against a stored model; all this is possible thanks to latest iPhones and iPad Pros containing both an infrared dot projector and an infrared camera for creating highly detailed depth maps.
The security of Face ID is not to be understated either, unlike previous implementations of face recognition from past companies, including Samsung, Face ID uses 3D mapping, not flat imagery. The result, Apple claims, is that the chance of someone unlocking your phone secured by Face ID is one in a million. On the other hand, retinal scanning could introduce even higher security, preventing lookalikes, such as a twin or close relative, from attempting to unlock your phone with an additional layer of protection.
Apple wouldn’t be the first company to attempt using retinal scanning on its devices. Samsung introduced the ability to unlock its Galaxy S8 with such a feature in 2018; however, if Apple opts to use retina scanning as a secondary authentication layer, it could make its system all the more secure for users. With Apple likely preparing to move its authentication system to its Mac lineup at some point soon, the new feature could help to meet stricter security standards.
Lastly, although we have seen patents noting Touch ID on stand-alone keyboards in the past, it is worth noting that Apple’s most recent offerings continue to illustrate the possibility. Within Apple’s European Patent Office filings, the company continues to depict what appears to be a Magic Keyboard with an integrated Touch Bar. Overall, Apple doesn’t look to be stepping down its focus on biometric authentication for any of its devices.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.