Touch ID

Just the sound of a touchscreen swipe can give away your fingerprint

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Fingerprint biometic security
It's not like your fingerprint is being read off the screen. It's recreated from sound and friction.
Photo: Pixabay@Pexels

New research suggests attackers can use the sound of a user’s finger swiping on a touchscreen to recreate their fingerprint pattern, according to a report Tuesday. And that biometric security risk could lead to trouble, of course.

All it takes is casual swiping in popular apps while a device microphone is on.

Great. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, biometic-security-wise.

Today in Apple history: Apple acquires the company behind Touch ID

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Touch ID
Touch ID was a massive step forward for Apple.
Photo: Apple

July 28: Today in Apple history: Apple acquires AuthenTec, the company behind Touch ID 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.

How to join the awesome password-free future and use passkeys

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No More Passwords
Passkeys are here, and I’m here to tell you they’re awesome.
Image: Santeri Viinamäki/Wikimedia Commons, D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Managing passwords is and always has been a giant pain. It isn’t the best system, but it’s the system we’ve got. Well, not if Apple can do anything about it. Passkeys are a new system that automatically signs you in to online services using your phone’s Face ID (or Touch ID) or your computer’s password. It’s one less thing to remember; it works without fiddling around with a password manager.

Passkeys aren’t an Apple-exclusive feature. You can bet the technology will be supported no matter what devices you have because all of these companies are part of the FIDO Alliance that created the system … eventually.

Apple fully supports it in iOS 16 and Safari 16 for Mac, as does Google’s Chrome browser on multiple platforms. Android 9 and above supports passkeys via Credential Manager, and Google just this week added passkey support to user accounts on “all major platforms.” (Microsoft won’t add it to Windows until later this year. Until every platform supports passkeys, you can still use your passwords to sign in.)

Follow along as I show you how passkeys work.

Apple, Google and Microsoft expand support for passwordless sign‑ins

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Face ID
You could soon be using Face ID to sign into more websites and applications.
Photo: Apple

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.

iPhone might never get in-screen Touch ID

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iPhone 14 won‘t include in-screen Touch ID
Bad news: Looks like an iPhone with an in-display Touch ID scanner will remain only a dream.
Concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

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.

iPhone SE 3 review roundup: Ample power combined with aging features

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iPhone SE
iPhone SE 3 is exactly what you would expect from a new iPhone SE.
Photo: Apple

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.

Say cheese: Albert Einstein, Dr. Fauci and RBG welcome new M1 Pro MacBook [Setups]

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That's not just any webcam perched above the monitor.
That's not just any webcam perched above the monitor.
Photo: PunctiliousCasuist@Reddit.com

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.

‘iPhone SE 3’ renders imagine a gorgeous design upgrade we won’t get

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iPhone SE 3 render
It's pretty, but it's unlikely.
Render: Ten Tech Review

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.

iPhone 14 won’t include in-screen Touch ID

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iPhone 14 won‘t include in-screen Touch ID
Bad news: looks like iPhone 14 won’t be Apple’s first with an in-display Touch ID scanner.
Concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

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.

No Face ID in MacBook Pro is a missed opportunity

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No Face ID in MacBook Pro is a missed opportunity
There’d be far fewer complaints about the MacBook Pro notch if it included Face ID.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

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.

Evidence grows for ‘hole punch’ camera in iPhone 14

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Replacing iPhone notch with holepunch camera makes no damn sense
Two generally reliable sources now say the iPhone 14 will have a hole punch camera.
Artists concept: Cult of Mac

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’s under-display Touch ID tech won’t feature in iPhone 13

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2020-iPhone-Touch-ID
Touch ID may never return to high-end iPhone models.
Concept: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

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.

Return of Touch ID is the most-anticipated feature for iPhone 13

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Touch ID might be back in the iPhone 13
People sure like their fingerprint sensing.
Concept image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple customers are seemingly always on the lookout for the next big thing when it comes to new products. That may not be quite true for the iPhone 13, though.

According to a survey by SellCell.com, the feature most Apple customers look forward to is actually the return of Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor Apple has been phasing out in favor of Face ID.

iPhone might get in-screen Touch ID this year

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Touch ID might be back in the iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 could be Apple’s first with an in-display Touch ID scanner.
Concept image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A growing number of voices predict that the next-generation iPhone will come with a fingerprint scanner built into its screen. If true, it will mark the welcome return of Touch ID to Apple’s premium models after several long years.

Touch ID could return in 2021 iPhone 13

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The 2018 iPhone models aren't going to have an in-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
Touch ID could be back, but not as you know it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A fingerprint scanner might once again be part of Apple’s iPhone line, according to a reliable source. Touch ID might appear in 2021 alongside Face ID, not in place of it.

Also, Apple reportedly has a folding screen in the prototype stage.

M1 MacBook Air is an instant classic [Review]

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MacBook Air M1 2020
Apple's new M1 chip makes this ultraportable laptop ultra-fantastic.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

I just opened more than 650 tabs in Safari on a new M1 MacBook Air. I would have opened more, but I got bored.

Meanwhile, in the background, the machine is downloading Photoshop and the Microsoft 360 suite, and I can see in Activity Monitor that it’s processing thousands of iCloud photos while also indexing the hard drive.

Despite this, the machine is as fleet as a greyhound. I started working on a Photoshop project while checking email, keeping an eye on TweetDeck and, of course, clicking around all those open Safari tabs. The MacBook Air is just humming. I’ve never seen anything like it.

All the things we didn’t get at Apple’s ‘Hi, Speed’ event

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Hi, Speed event image with wishlist in background
Apple's "Hi, Speed" event offered up some nice updates to the iPhone 12 and HomePod, but left some boxes on the wishlist unchecked.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

It happens before every Apple event. The rumor mill, tech blogs (hello), and iPhone-obsessed nerds pin every hope, dream and desire on the next version of Apple’s devices.

More often than not, those desires are dashed, pushing those wants off to another event. While Apple’s iPhone 12 event showed the steps the company is taking toward iterating on its most popular device, there were also some things left on the wish list.

How to lock down Facebook Messenger with Face ID or Touch ID

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Add Face ID or Touch ID to Facebook Messenger for maximum security.
Take this simple precaution to keep your chats private.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Facebook Messenger’s new App Lock feature lets you add an extra layer of security to the popular chat app. iPhone and iPad users can switch on Face ID or Touch ID so they never need to worry about anybody seeing their messages.

The previously rumored feature, which Facebook rolled out for iOS devices Wednesday, is easy to enable. Plus, you can tweak a setting to make sure App Lock works ideally for you. Here’s all you need to do to turn on Face ID or Touch ID for Facebook Messenger.

Get ready to log into websites with Face ID or Touch ID

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Use Face ID or Touch ID to log into websites with Safari.
Logging in to websites is about to get easier for Apple users.
Screenshot: Apple

WWDC 2020 Safari users soon will be able to securely log into websites using Face ID and Touch ID. The new feature, which Apple is rolling out in iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, should take away one of the most irritating things about using the web — remembering, and then typing in, user names and complicated passwords.

On websites that support the feature, users can opt in to use Apple’s biometric ID systems, making that irritating login dance a thing of the past.

We talk next-gen AirPods and the return of Touch ID, on The CultCast

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CultCast 442: AirPods with health sensors
Can you handle some hot, hot beta action?
Image: The CultCast

This week on The CultCast: The next generation of AirPods might be incoming! We’ll tell you what we know. Plus, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are likely coming to iPad, along with Mini LED and Touch ID … under the screen. This could be the new Touch ID tech we’ve been waiting for. And stay tuned to hear how to listen to YouTube music in the background, without paying for YouTube Red. It’s a hot tip, and it’s coming your way.

Our thanks to Netgear for supporting this episode. The Orbi WiFi 6 router gives you ultra-fast speeds and wider coverage throughout your home – it’s the biggest revolution in Wi-Fi ever. Check it out today at Netgear.com/bestwifi.