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Maybe I'm overly paranoid (ok, I am overly paranoid) but it would seem that this would allow someone to grab my phone, point it at my face and run off with an unlocked phone. Maybe a time delay would help prevent that but then that would introduce a negative usability issue.

Bill
 
Android did it for 4-5 years ago, people didn't use it. Unless its some kind of super advanced 3D scanning system (see Kinect, but much much more precise) it's not going to be an improvement to TouchID.
 
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These iPhone rumors, I think are way off. Only thing that would be usefull is to integrate this technique into an augmented reality device.
 
No touch id no buy.
I'll go further than that.
If I can't totally disable ALL Facial crapware on my phone then sorry Apple you are dead to me.
Not everyone in this world is a fan of Selfies and even fewer are fans of being identified in Pictures that you didn't take or have control of. What about Dopplegangers then? Will you be sued for making mistakes? I think you will Apple so you'd better allow people to shut the effing thing off from doing its evil work.
Yes, evil. By identifying people (rightly id'd or wrongly tagged) you are doing the work of the NSA, FBI, FSB and the rest for them.
I take thousands of photographs every year. I do not want anyone caught by accident in them identified. I don't want that responsibility.
I may stop taking photos of people entirely with my phone if you insist of implimenting this.
That's how bad I see this bit of tech.
 
I doubt if facial recognition will usurp Touch ID in the immediate future.

Apple's acquisitions rarely result in quick technology redeployment. Siri took a couple of years to emerge as an iOS feature and so did impact of the PA Semi acquisition. Same with the acquisition of mapping technology companies. These acquisitions take years to integrate.

This acquisition could be used in multiple ways, including improving face recognition in Photos. Also, the technology could be adapted for mapping or text recognition to identify businesses, signage, etc.

If it deployed as biometric identification technology, it doesn't necessarily mean the demise of Touch ID. Apple may choose to use it as optional two-factor biometric security: facial recognition + Touch ID combined provide stronger security than either alone.

Those are just some of my quick observations on a Sunday morning. My guess is that Apple's senior management has put more thought into the matter before they chose to acquire this company.

Yes, but it could also be an aquisition for patents. Apple could have in-house tech ready for launch, but didn' t have the patents yet to release it, and have other patents for future use.
 
Yes, but it could also be an aquisition for patents. Apple could have in-house tech ready for launch, but didn' t have the patents yet to release it, and have other patents for future use.

I wonder if it works in the dark!
 

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Maybe I'm overly paranoid (ok, I am overly paranoid) but it would seem that this would allow someone to grab my phone, point it at my face and run off with an unlocked phone. Maybe a time delay would help prevent that but then that would introduce a negative usability issue.

Bill
What is the point? To make changes in settings to disable the facial recog after stealing it, would require an additional face scan.
So they have to steal it. Go to the settings fast, put off facial recog and than have to scan your face again.
 
What makes you think that? Are there any past examples of this add-on redundancy from Apl? With MSFT I could add on a Type Keyboard with fingerprint (For Sp3 users mainly) ...that would be redundant.

In reality they take away and/or replace. Additional layer of security is a given with facial id as it is 4-5x better and the device itself is the other factor of ID. A lesser fingerprint is redundant...hence toast (saves cost, increases margins, creates a differential for older design).. Look at headphone jack loss, same thing.

Reading the other posts, you may notice that you're in an incredible minority if you believe TouchID will be removed...
There are a litany of reasons why. The convenience of it working in pitch dark is a huge one. For example: we can currently unlock our phones in our pockets, or shut off an alarm by fumbling around on a nightstand.
With TouchID, the security piece was 2nd fiddle to the CONVENIENCE factor! The security was almost like an awesome "bonus".
 
This is tremendously exciting. It's a shame that Applephone---sorry, Apple---doesn't have the money or human resources to do anything but tinker with the iPhone. A real shame.
Have they pulled the plug on the Mac yet?

Troll post. There is no plan to kill Mac as Cook has said. you wouldn't even be able to code iPhone apps without a mac. Further Apple is making incredible advancements in other areas -- iPads, which outsell macs 2:1, the Watch, MacBooks, etc.

Btw, when is Tesla releasing a laptop? oh yeah, they only do one thing. At a loss.
 
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It'll be used for multifactor authentication. Touch ID isn't going anywhere. MFA has lots of great use cases, and since this is a purely software-driven initiative, no problems at all.
 



Apple has bought Israeli startup RealFace, a cybersecurity and machine learning firm specializing in facial recognition technology.

The Times of Israel reported on Sunday that the Tel Aviv-based company, founded in 2014, was snapped up by Apple for an estimated $2 million, while Hebrew-language Calcalist said the deal was worth "several million dollars".

Screen-Shot-2-1-800x535.jpg

RealFace's website is currently offline, but according to promotional material, the startup had developed a unique facial recognition technology that integrates artificial intelligence and "brings back human perception to digital processes". RealFace's software is said to use proprietary IP in the field of "frictionless face recognition" that allows for rapid learning from facial features.

The Israeli startup also developed a now-defunct app called Pickeez, which selected and collated a user's best photos across various platforms using the RealFace recognition software.

Demo of RealFace's face recognition software

According to iPhone 8 rumors, Apple may ditch Touch ID along with the physical home button, in favor of a facial recognition-capable front-facing 3D laser scanner, although with the RealFace acquisition coming at such a late time, it's unlikely that the any of the startup's technology will feature.

RealFace is the fourth Israel-based firm Apple is known to have acquired. In 2011 it bought flash memory maker Anobit for a reported $400 million, then in November 2013 it acquired 3D sensor company PrimeSense for an estimated $345 million. Most recently in 2015, Apple bought LinX for around $20 million.

Article Link: Apple Acquires Israeli Firm RealFace Specializing in Facial Recognition
 
Dear MR,
While I enjoy these articles.... PLEASE stop mentioning the incredibly unlikely scenario of loss of TouchID.

Edit:
When TouchID came out; nobody was saying: "and Apple is removing the ability to use a passcode; you'll be forced to use this feature, whether it's buggy or not"- so I'm unsure why this time around everyone has glommed into this RIDICULOUS rumor, so far only postulated by a single "analyst", based here in America, that has no insider info, or ties w/ the production factories. It really reads like his personal opinion based on nothing other than that.... it's his opinion.

Until the part leaks begin, it's MR's job to at least entertain these possibilities. If Apple is removing the physical home button, as rumors suggest, that means any surviving fingerprint recognition feature must be integrated into the display screen (or be relocated to the rear casing – no rumors yet support this solution).

Currently, we have a handful of patents and a company acquisition from 2014 to support the screen/fingerprint ID scenario, but we're not yet in a position to assert that Apple has mastered a technology capable of reading sub-epidermal skin layers through an OLED display substrate.

Reliable fingerprint identification may not necessarily even rely on Touch ID as it's currently understood. The technology may be different enough that Apple chooses to redefine it, as it did when "Force Touch" on the MacBook became "3D Touch" on the iPhone, for instance. A semantic quibble in the eyes of the average consumer, maybe, but an important distinction for Apple and a possible source of confusion in the rumor mill.

Kuo believes the next fingerprint recognition system will "ultimately be replaced by a facial recognition system" for enhanced security. However, he's also said that "if the technical challenges cannot be overcome, we believe a combination of fingerprint and facial recognition is another possible solution", so, yes, there's a two-step authentication possibility in the offing as well.

By the way, I don't really think the passcode comparison is fair. There's a world of difference between choosing to remove a passcode feature that could just as easily stay, and transposing a sapphire-lens fingerprint identification technology onto a completely different substrate such as a touchscreen.
 
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Troll post. There is no plan to kill Mac as Cook has said. you wouldn't even be able to code iPhone apps without a mac. Further Apple is making incredible advancements in other areas -- iPads, which outsell macs 2:1, the Watch, MacBooks, etc.

Btw, when is Tesla releasing a laptop? oh yeah, they only do one thing. At a loss.
Still glad you got that Mac tatoo?
 
lol this method of face recognition is very slow, give it 10 years more. Needs to be fast and seamless.
 
a replacement iPhone SE should be a good alternative for many.
 
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