July 28, 2012: Apple buys biometrics company AuthenTec, acquiring the technology that will power future authentication and secure payments initiatives.
With a price tag of $356 million, the deal gives Apple the right to use AuthenTec hardware, software and patents. In the short term, Apple engineers start working to build Touch ID sensors into the iPhone 5s. Longer-term, AuthenTec’s mobile wallet tech paves the way for Apple Pay.
Apple, Google and Microsoft committed themselves to expand support for a passwordless sign-in standard. The goal is to make it easier for websites and applications to offer consistent, secure and easy passwordless sign-ins.
It’s a move toward greater support for biometric security systems like the ones already included in iPhone, Mac and iPad.
An in-screen fingerprint scanner won’t be part of any iPhone for at least three years, according to a trusted analyst. That raises the strong possibility that Touch ID will never again be part of Apple’s flagship smartphones — despite occasional rumors to the contrary.
Apple may have abandoned the idea after a recent improvement to Face ID.
With less than a week to go until Apple’s third-generation iPhone SE makes its official debut, the first reviews are out. They have plenty of great things to say about Cupertino’s most affordable handset — and more than a few complaints.
While everyone is praising the handset’s super-speedy A15 Bionic, welcome 5G connectivity, and even its single 12-megapixel camera, most reviewers agree that its “tired design” is in dire need of a refresh.
On Fridays it’s fun to focus on computer setups with entertaining features whenever possible. Sometimes it’s seriously vintage gear. Or it could be wacky decor. Once in a while, an exotic location pops up. Today we found one where a brand new M1 Pro MacBook meets a kooky crew of bobbleheads and other figures under a really over-the-top camera rig used as a webcam.
New renders of an “iPhone SE 3” show off a gorgeous design upgrade with an edge-to-edge display and no Home button. The device looks a lot like iPhone XR, but with the same dimensions as the current iPhone SE.
These images are said to be based on leaked CAD drawings, but before you get too excited, they’re probably not accurate. At least not for iPhone SE 3.
Apple won’t build the Touch ID fingerprint recognition system into the 2022 iPhone, according to a very reliable tipster. That’s bad news for those who aren’t fans of Face ID, or who just want a second option.
There haven’t been any specific reports that the iPhone 14 will include Touch ID, but Apple is supposedly working on an in-screen version.
Saying the 2021 MacBook Pro’s screen notch is controversial is putting it mildly. But Apple could have made it easier to bear. Building in Face ID would have better justified the display cutout — and also made the newest macOS notebooks easier to use.
Apple execs recently revealed why the MacBook Pro utilizes Touch ID instead of Face ID. And the reason is not convincing. The facial-recognition system is a better fit for MacBook than it is for any other Apple product — including ones it’s already built into.
A trusted analyst has backed up a recent leak that the iPhone 14 will replace the screen notch with a hole punch camera. And there are other significant changes reportedly coming in the 2022 model.
But TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pushed back his prediction for when some much-anticipated features will reach the iPhone.
Apple won’t bring Touch ID back with iPhone 13 this year, despite testing new technology that would allow the fingerprint scanner to be hidden away under an iPhone’s screen, according to one reliable reporter.
Earlier reports have claimed Apple is working to bring Touch ID back to iPhone as an alternative to Face ID for those who want it. But the feature “won’t make the cut” for Apple’s big smartphone refresh this fall.
