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How long do you think it will take Apple to add FaceID to Mac notebooks?

  • Less than a year

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Next fall's event

    Votes: 18 45.0%
  • Up to two years

    Votes: 9 22.5%
  • 2-3 years

    Votes: 8 20.0%
  • 4+ years

    Votes: 5 12.5%

  • Total voters
    40

hkeely

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 14, 2007
45
38
It seems certain that FaceID will come to desktop Macs first, but considering the notch is here, how long do you think it will take for Apple's notebooks to get FaceID?
 
It seems certain that FaceID will come to desktop Macs first, but considering the notch is here, how long do you think it will take for Apple's notebooks to get FaceID?
Personally I don’t think they will at all, we have literally only gone from 720p to 1080p cameras in the space of how many years?

You have to remember for Face ID that lid would likely need to be thicker… people are under the illusion that the notch = Face ID… it doesn’t, it’s just an area of the bezel that needs to retain its thickness to house the camera and ambient light sensors.

If the notch = Face ID, we would have likely seen it long before the iPhone X as the forehead on iPhone before it was much larger, it was only implemented as it was a requirement on the iPhone X due to the loss of the home button for the full screen design.

Apple have been known to continually put the bare minimum into the webcams on their macs throughout history (as is the case for pretty much every laptop).

The only improvements I expect to the webcam for the life of this design is probably just centre stage at the most.
 
It seems certain that FaceID will come to desktop Macs first, but considering the notch is here, how long do you think it will take for Apple's notebooks to get FaceID?

We know that Apple didn't include FaceID this year in order to make it a selling point for the next rev of MacBook Pros.

Predictable. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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We know that Apple didn't include FaceID this year in order to make it a selling point for the next rev of MacBook Pros.

Predictable. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don’t think it will ever happen whilst the lid is that slim… the only Mac I could possibly see it coming on at some point in the future is possibly the iMac… but then you have to think whether it is worth the R&D to incorporate Touch ID into the keyboards if in a year or two they are going with Face ID… if it was going to happen they would have brought it straight to the table right now IMO… I doubt people who buy a $2000+ MBP now are going to upgrade in two years time for Face ID in all honesty.
 
Well, the new MacBook Pro screen is 4mm thin while the 11” iPad Pro is 5.9mm thin. So give it 1 or 2 years and I think FaceID should fit in a 4mm case.
 
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So we are closing in on this years fall event, which is the time most people seem to think that we will get FaceID in Macs. Since we didn't get it with the updated MBP or MBA, nor the Studio Display, the question is then, if we are getting it at all. Can someone give me a reason for not adding FaceID to a Mac?

Also, the notch on the MacBooks seems quite large in comparison to the actual camera, so it seems Apple has prepared it for adding sensors for FaceID, no? Rev. B MBPs would be the next time for them to step in, in that case..
 
I would welcome FaceID on my iMac. I’ve learned I really like it on my 2020 iPadPro (though I miss the Home button of my previous iPP)…it works very reliably and well for me. I know it won’t be retrofit onto existing product, but FaceID on desktop machines can’t come too soon IMO. In fact, it might be a reason to replace my 2017 iMac should it happen.
 
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