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Sketchy Rumor Claims MacBooks, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad to Gain Touch ID

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Apr 12, 2001
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Touch ID could be headed to the next-generation MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad, according to a sketchy rumor from Taiwanese website Apple.club.tw [Google Translate]. The report, citing sources, claims that the fingerprint scanner will be positioned above the trackpad on MacBooks and integrated directly into the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad for desktop Mac users.

MacBook-Magic-Mouse.png
The addition of a built-in fingerprint scanner on the latest MacBooks, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad would enable Apple to make an aggressive push into the mobile payments industry with Apple Pay. The NFC-based mobile payments platform is currently limited to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and will be compatible with the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 when paired with an Apple Watch.

There are a few reasonable obstacles, however, that suggest this rumor may not be true. First, there is limited space above the trackpad on MacBooks for Apple to implement Touch ID, especially on the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air. Meanwhile, integrating Touch ID on the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad would be complex due to the need for secure wireless transmitting authentication.

Apple.club.tw has shared reliable information in the past about Apple's upcoming product plans, leaking photos of components for next-generation products such as the iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2. Nevertheless, this rumor should be treated with a proverbial grain of salt until further information is known.

Non-Retina MacBook Airs could be updated as soon as late February, while the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air is expected to launch closer to mid-year. Keep an eye on MacRumors' Buyer's Guides for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro for the latest advice and information about product refreshes.

Article Link: Sketchy Rumor Claims MacBooks, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad to Gain Touch ID
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/17/touch-id-macbooks-magic-mouse-trackpad-rumor/
I feel like this is inevitable. Not a necessary feature, but will be a nice to have none-the-less. :p
 
I could see it on MacBooks, but I really doubt it will be on a magic mouse. Possibly a magic trackpad I suppose, but I'm doubtful.
 
"there is limited space above the trackpad on MacBooks for pple to implement Touch ID, especially on the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air."

If only there was space to the side... also who edits these?! 'pple' !
*edit* this was fixed!
 
As this rumor indeed seems sketchy, it's a given that Apple will introduce TouchID into MacBooks and Macs. Wether it will be the Trackpad, Magic Mouse or something else will have to be seen.
 
This is great. I'm in need of a new laptop and Touch ID would be a really cool feature to have. It would be great, too, if the Retina MacBook Pros started with 256GB of storage - maybe this will happen with the next refresh?
 
But how will they do this?! Downsized ARM Chip with a secure enclave?

ARM - Co-Processor on Macbooks for Siri & TouchID?
 
While one would think that putting Touch ID in the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad would allow the feature to work with older Macs as long as the OS is current, I bet they'd only make it work with the newest hardware. Hope I'm wrong -- assuming there's any validity to this rumor.
 
Jaynamo said:
This feels like the most stupid rumour in quite a while.
Click to expand...

Why? It makes a lot of sense - Buying things with apple pay.

Makes for very secure laptop - Not sure about the mouse. but why not. Even if it's stolen they can't do anything with it you still would have to enter a password.

----------
Jaynamo said:
Well they're taking out all the ports, why not remove the space bar too eh? :confused:
Click to expand...

Sorryhowdoyouknowthat?Areyoubelivingalltherumorsonthissite?shakesheadslowly.
 
Why?

Touch ID would be of little use on a MBP and even less useful on a Magic Mouse or Trackpad. The benefit of having it on your phone is because it allows you to have complex passcodes that would be difficult to enter on a tiny keyboard. That's not an issue on a laptop keyboard. There are already apps that will allow you to unlock your MBP with your iPhone or iPad if you really need that functionality. Why mess up the design of the MM & MTP or the MBP for that matter.
 
Maybe...

On the Macbook, possible. Even somewhat logical. Not above the trackpad though.

On the other two? Doesn't make much sense to me. Installing a security device on a seperate object / accessory to a device? I doubt many people lose their trackpad or mouse, but the potential is there.

Actually....above the trackpad isn't too far out of the realm if you take into account that if you put it on the left or right it could make it semi-inconvenient when making a choice for righties or lefties. Isn't a huge deal either way though.
 
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It would be great to unlock my MacBook Pro with TouchID. I figured they'd place it where the power button used to be on pre-retina MBP's. Fairly inconspicuous location, especially if body colored.
 
I could see them adding it to the MacBook, especially if they make the entire trackpad surface Touch-ID capable. Macs are higher-end, higher margin products. Implementing something like that on a mouse would require doing the same thing across the whole surface (or else it gets too complicated/clunky), which I think at this point would be prohibitively expensive, unless Apple has come up with some magical solution. Aren't the trackpads already covered in glass? Just upgrade that with a sapphire coating.

This would, of course, be a test and precursor to doing the same on the iPhone, probably in the iPhone 7. Make the whole surface touch ID compatible, and then just put your finger on the screen anywhere to unlock. Or even if it's just the part along the bottom where the "Swipe to unlock" would have been. Then with force touch we can finally move away from having any buttons on the front of the device, enabling tiny bezels and smaller devices. Sure, it's less obvious, but it will happen eventually. And Apple will make it more obvious somehow with software and hardware design.
 
I don't think it's going to be on the keyboard, there are too many keyboard layouts. The right alt/option is key is useless though on US keyboards. The touch id would somehow compromise the continuous, sleek aluminum design if it was placed anywhere else (like the old power buttons on the corner of the macbooks).
 
Neat. The magic mouse has been in dire need to be updated for awhile. Pinch and pull to zoom should have been included from day 1 and I think needs to be more comfortable
 
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