Bloomberg: Face ID for iMac Likely Pushed Back to Second Iteration of Upcoming Redesign

[Braderunner]

This would be a bummer.
I want the new iMac but be future proof.
Maybe wait.

"Future proof" is hanging out with Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I don’t wear my Apple Watch at home. I need Face ID to not have to type password every time. I’ll skip until it joins the lineup.

 

[mongobongo]

That’s unfortunate; I’m betting a lot of people were looking forward to desktop Face-ID almost more than the redesign itself. Still, the keyword there is “almost,” so I’m sure they’ll be popular machines nonetheless.

This does raise an interesting question for MacBook plus external monitor users like myself though: will that theorized cheaper Apple display also not have Face-ID? On the one hand, Apple monitors have feature parity with iMac displays, and in this case the iMacs they’ll likely be released alongside won’t have Face-ID. On the other hand, they’re not refreshed often, so there may not be a 2nd monitor released when the 2nd generation Apple Silicon iMacs come out.

I'm by no means an expert on this but considering how tightly integrated Face ID is with the secure enclave and all that. I don't think an external monitor will ever provide Face ID unlock of a connected a MacBook.

 

[TVreporter]

I dont care about faceid. My Apple Watch can unlock my mac.

I think it would be a great feature, especially if there are multiple users on an iMac. Currently my wife and I have separate log-ins on the one iMac.

Of course, Apple would rather you buy 2 iMacs instead of sharing it — likely why they don't allow multiple user accounts on iPads - too easy a solution.

 

[Sirious]

I dont care about faceid. My Apple Watch can unlock my mac.

I agree. It works seamlessly with my MacBook and its still a really lovely feature.

But I guess Face ID will make it feel like the 'full package'!

 

[SWAON]

Of course, if they put FaceID in the 1st gen, who will buy the next one? That's how they think. Silly Apple. Give people what they need.

 

[JosephAW]

Waiting for the iMac mini

 

[Jeaz]

As unlocking with Apple Watch works so well, I don't mind it not having FaceID. Didn't even cross my mind it should have it.

 

[crevalic]

Bit of over reaction to lack of Face ID in my opinion. If you can't put a password in and tap in a few characters, then to my mind that's sad. It only convinces me that there are many computers owned as toys.

I'm looking forward to the iMac, for what it can do in terms of performance and productivity. I doubt I will lose sleep if it doesn't recognise my face in order to open up, and we've seen in the past that fingerprint and even Face ID are not that hard to bypass, whereas a decent password is.

Some of us care about safety and actually use properly long passwords that we don't want to keep entering all the time. FaceID is also useful for continuous and seamless authentication, like when using password managers or entering credit card info, etc. It also increases security, because it could serve as a second security layer in addition to password or a hardware key. And of course it's a massive increase in comfort with literally no negatives, since you can keep using a password instead.

How your deranged boomer mind could possibly reach a conclusion that wanting a functionality and safety upgrade, for which technology has been widely available since 2017, means that your computer is just a toy, is a mystery to me. If anybody is sad, it's you. Get on with the times, the world didn't stop in 1980, things will and must keep getting better.

And get off your high horse, you are posting in an iMac thread. It's basically a laptop glued to a bigger screen that you can't move or upgrade

 

[currocj]

iMac is dead (again) to me now that there is a legit Mac Mini, sort of. Mac Mini need to get back to the ability to display 3 monitors, and at LEAST 2 via usb-c/thunderbolt 3. The new SIIG HDMI to USB-C converter adapter allows 2x TB3 displays on the new mac mini, so I'm content for now.

The only reason I purchased a 2017 iMac (the only one I've ever owned) was my desperate wait for the Mac Mini refresh. That wait was torture.

 

[pshufd]

Just bring it soon. I may get an Intel iMac 27 if I can find one. They've been completely out of stock at the local stores this week.

 

[macintoshmac]

Very disappointing. All these years they've taken to redesign the iMac, and then they will intentionally knee-cap it with no FaceID in order to drum up the gen-2 model. Not surprising as that is typical Apple.

FaceID would work the best in an iMac because it is always in the proper position and has no ability to receive Touch ID.

I was really planning to upgrade to these new iMacs, but I might wait FaceID out. That was the biggest feature I was looking forward to in the new designs.

That is classic Apple since they tasted this strategy with the iPhone.

 

[TVreporter]

Not saying they overlooked it, but obviously it's a bad look that the largest company in the world can't get this tech into an iMac in 3-4 years time.

It's not that they "can't" it's more like "we don't want to" — or at least not the first one. Have a nugget to tangle for the 2022 or 23 model.

 

[macintoshmac]

Better to delay than release it early and it not work like it should.

This never stopped Apple from releasing neither hardware nor software. Customers have been willing beta testers, paying Apple money to test their product designs and software versions.

 

[frou]

Mac Mini need to get back to the ability to display 3 monitors, and at LEAST 2 via usb-c/thunderbolt 3.

Thankfully this made me feel not too bad about investing heavily in a 2018 Mini. Since if I had held back and waited for an ARM Mini instead, turns out it would not have supported my beloved eGPU + 3x DP monitor setup anyway!

 

[Juanchi007]

Face ID debuted in 2018's iPhone X and has been a tentpole feature of Apple's flagship iPhones ever since

FaceID debuted on the iPhone X in 2017, not in 2018.

 

[Kagio]

iPhone can already unlock with FaceID at quite an off-angle. I can have my phone mounted to a dashboard in my car. It doesn't face me directly. But it can instantly unlock the phone the moment I glance at it. And they do have all the SWs along with the FaceID in iPhone. Now they don't even need to port, since iMac will use ARM arch. And they do have a history of introducing HW first and get SW updates for additional functionalities. I think they are purely delaying it for the second iteration.

angle is not the same as distance

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I really don’t care about Face ID on the iMac.
I never really expected it, and I was never really hoping for it.
On my iPad Pro, Face ID only works about a third of the time, since it’s sitting on the keyboard on its side and you have to have your face angled properly, so I end up entering my password the majority of the time anyway.
With the Mac, I can just unlock it with my watch.
Of all the features they could bring to the iMac, face ID is at the bottom of my list.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

Of all the recent developments and features with Apple devices, Face ID on Mac’s would be incredibly welcomed.

 

[Lemon Olive]

Have to save something for the second iteration of course!

Face ID is so overdue for the Mac its not even funny. At the rate at which Apple is adding things that need to be manually approved by the user (awful UX), the lack of Face ID to compensate is a joke. Though, I'm not sure they would even use it to the extent it should be. Whether you use Touch ID on a MacBook (which is also a terrible UX), or your use Apple Watch (which is not much better), they are all under utilized and all require you taking your hands off of the keyboard/mouse.

Face ID has the opportunity to finally be the best auth option on the Mac due to the fact that you are always looking directly at the camera, and won't need to take your hands off the keyboard and mouse. They just better get it right and not gimp it in some way.

 

[sirozha]

That’s unfortunate; I’m betting a lot of people were looking forward to desktop Face-ID almost more than the redesign itself. Still, the keyword there is “almost,” so I’m sure they’ll be popular machines nonetheless.

This does raise an interesting question for MacBook plus external monitor users like myself though: will that theorized cheaper Apple display also not have Face-ID? On the one hand, Apple monitors have feature parity with iMac displays, and in this case the iMacs they’ll likely be released alongside won’t have Face-ID. On the other hand, they’re not refreshed often, so there may not be a 2nd monitor released when the 2nd generation Apple Silicon iMacs come out.

How many hands do you have?

 

[krazzix]

Apple is believed to be working on redesigned versions of the iMac that feature the biggest design overhaul to the ‌iMac‌ line since 2012

The biggest? How about the only.

 

[alexandr]

no under-the-screen touch id?

 

[Mr. Dee]

Realistically, that's probably how it goes for all their products. Part of developing generation N will include planning what will make generation N+1 more desirable than N.

Can't just be happy-go-lucky at this scale and with so much money flying around.

Well, guess what, I can do this thing called wait. I think my strategy has worked well, since I jumped on the 2016 design at the tail end when all the kinks had worked out. This new generation of MacBooks and iMacs are gonna likely introduce some issues. So, I’ll just wait those out.

 

[jonnysods]

I wonder how well this rumour will play out when it comes time to show off the new models.

So curious what the offerings of the 16" MBP and iMac will be. Can't wait!