New iMac could be Apple's first Face ID computer
Now more and more talk is about that Apple can add Face ID support to Mac computers - almost 3 years after the face scanner was first used on the iPhone. And here in addition there are new confirmations that Apple will present an updated iMac at WWDC, the company has already registered a new device. It is iMac, and not MacBook, that can become the first Apple computer with Face ID. There are several reasons for this.
Apple still uses a 720p camera on its laptops that hasn’t been updated for a minute, almost 12 years. However, in the Mac lineup there is one computer on which the company's engineers decided to install a more powerful camera - the iMac Pro. A camera with a resolution of 1080p is its unique feature. Surprisingly, Apple did not install it in either the 16-inch MacBook Pro 2019, which is the corporation’s most powerful laptop, but in the MaccBook Air or MacBook Pro 2020. It is unlikely that several tens of dollars are regretted in Cupertino for a new camera - most likely due to beyond the thin bezels of the screen, putting it into a laptop is not so simple.
Face ID on Mac
And here is where the new iMac comes to hand. According to rumors, with thinner frames, but not the same as laptops. Yes, and the thickness of the case in Apple monoblocks is greater, which allows you to place a more powerful camera there. Including True Depth, as on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Apple could test Face ID on the 2020 iMac, and then, if all goes well, complete the tests and install face recognition on their laptops. Nowadays in modern MacBooks there is one way of biometric identification - a built-in fingerprint scanner, but for obvious reasons this is not the case in iMac. And users are forced to enter a password each time when authorizing in the system or performing actions that require administrator rights.
Plus last week, a screenshot of the Apple internal file was shown on Twitter showing the FaceID.plist file on the Mac and it was noted that the interface was supported by iOS, tvOS and macOS. True, I have big doubts about tvOS, but is it not for nothing that there are rumors about the new sixth generation Apple TV set-top box? Maybe they will do something really revolutionary? Although, to be honest, I do not see the point in the appearance of Face ID in the Apple television set-top box.
New iMac 2020
In the future, Apple will be able to completely abandon the use of fingerprint scanners Touch ID in their new Macs. To replace, as in the iPhone and iPad, comes the Face ID biometric identification system. Everything goes exactly to this. Previously, insiders reported that the introduction of the new TrueDepth camera system will not require additional design decisions or changes in the device form factor. Sensors will be completely invisible to the user, sitting in the usual place - in the area of the webcam.
In recent years, Apple has filed several patents related to using Face ID technology on the Mac in one way or another. A recent Mac desktop computer with TrueDepth camera system and support for face recognition. But scanning will be even more accurate and safe - as not only facial features and the general model of the head will be read, but also the retina. Thus, proprietary technology will get rid of its main drawback - the inability to distinguish twins from each other.
The only possible obstacle may be the lack of space in the incredibly thin MacBook case, which can make it difficult to place a Face ID camera, which is why the face scanner, which first appeared on the iMac, makes some sense.