The new iPhone 8 will be capable of unlocking with its face recognition even when it’s lying flat on your desk, a new report suggests.

The information is just the latest leak from a treasure trove of Apple code accidentally released just over one week ago. A line in the firmware refers to “Pearl,” Apple’s internal name for its facial recognition tech — alongside words including “unlock” and “resting.”

Backing up a previous report

This information appears to back up a report published in Bloomberg earlier this year. That report noted that:

[The facial recognition sensor’s] speed and accuracy are focal points of the feature. It can scan a user’s face and unlock the iPhone within a few hundred milliseconds, the person said. It is designed to work even if the device is laying flat on a table, rather than just close up to the face.”

If true, this would make facial recognition more usable as a Touch ID replacement, by getting rid of the fingerprint sensor in exchange for a technology that would be just as quick to unlock your iPhone.

Apple’s history of facial recognition

Apple has been working on facial recognition technology for quite some time now. Back in 2015, it was awarded a patent which could unlock when a user’s face was presented and, “automatically lock based on determine that a user’s face is no longer present in the images captured by the device’s built-in camera.”

Earlier this year, it was first rumored that Apple was working to replace Touch ID with 3D facial scanning that could prove faster, easier and more secure than the fingerprint reader currently used for logins and payments. At the time, Apple was reportedly testing the technology in iPhone prototypes.

Source: iHelp BR