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Will these current M1 Macs be able to have Face ID?

pmbooks

pmbooks

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 23, 2005
309
63
California
One feature I'd enjoy on a new Mac is face id. Rumors have suggested this may be a feature coming to the Macs with the new chips, and I'm wondering if it would be introduced via an OS update or via a hardware update (M2 ?). In one scenario, those who have purchased one of the new M1 Macs would benefit as well; in the other scenario they would not, and since I'm interested in getting a new MacBook I'm wondering if I should hold off until next year or spring for the new one.

Thoughts?
 
Probably not coming to the current hardware as I don’t think it has the true depth camera. Also not a feature I’d lose any sleep over.
 
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andrewstirling said:
Probably not coming to the current hardware as I don’t think it has the true depth camera. Also not a feature I’d lose any sleep over.
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Not sure why you dont rate it, FaceID is excellent on my iPad, it’s noticeably more annoying entering passwords all the time on my on Mac, and TouchID on my phone is nowhere near as reliable!
 
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cupcakes2000 said:
Not sure why you dont rate it, FaceID is excellent on my iPad, it’s noticeably more annoying entering passwords all the time on my on Mac, and TouchID on my phone is nowhere near as reliable!
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Aw I don’t mind it at all (apart from at the moment when I have a face mask on) It’s just that I’m unlikely to leave my MacBook unattended unless I’m at home. And I unlock it via Touch ID or simply by wearing my Apple Watch. I don’t really then need additional security for every app... and given that my hands are on the keyboard anyway, it seems pretty natural to log into any web resources using my fingerprint.

I wouldn’t turn off Face ID if I had it and would happily use it. But it’s not something that, for my use (music creation and writing), is likely to be a big deal.
 
cupcakes2000 said:
Not sat at my computer or at my iPad, no.
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You talked about your iphone with touch id. Touch id is 100% more reliable while wearing a mask, trust me ! And we wont stop wearing mask anytime soon unfortunately... I don't see any issue with touch id on my mac, work every time.
 
andrewstirling said:
Aw I don’t mind it at all (apart from at the moment when I have a face mask on) It’s just that I’m unlikely to leave my MacBook unattended unless I’m at home. And I unlock it via Touch ID or simply by wearing my Apple Watch. I don’t really then need additional security for every app... and given that my hands are on the keyboard anyway, it seems pretty natural to log into any web resources using my fingerprint.

I wouldn’t turn off Face ID if I had it and would happily use it. But it’s not something that, for my use (music creation and writing), is likely to be a big deal.
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Ah, fair enough. I use a fairly secure user password which I always seem to by typing in, FaceID just for that and my password managers password would just be great!
 
Jinbei said:
You talked about your iphone with touch id. Touch id is 100% more reliable while wearing a mask, trust me ! And we wont stop wearing mask anytime soon unfortunately... I don't see any issue with touch id on my mac, work every time.
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I’d have to disagree. I think within the next year masks are going to pretty much go away and things are going to return to mostly normal.
 
Jinbei said:
You talked about your iphone with touch id. Touch id is 100% more reliable while wearing a mask, trust me ! And we wont stop wearing mask anytime soon unfortunately... I don't see any issue with touch id on my mac, work every time.
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Threads about the Mac. Was just saying I use all three methods and giving my experience to the OP
 
cupcakes2000 said:
Ah, fair enough. I use a fairly secure user password which I always seem to by typing in, FaceID just for that and my password managers password would just be great!
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Which password manager do you use ? I use 1password on my mac and I can use touch id each time I want to unlock it and access my password.
 
Jinbei said:
You must not be wearing mask often then
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Agree. In any metro area/city where public transport is used, this is a huge downside to faceID. Not really a fan to be honest.

TouchID on the other hand is stellar on the M1MBA where I can simply enter passwords and confirm identity without slowing down.
 
FuturePilot said:
I’d have to disagree. I think within the next year masks are going to pretty much go away and things are going to return to mostly normal.
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Don't know where you are from but in my country they talk about a third phase next spring. And we'll have to wait until autumn before most of people get a vaccine. And I live in Europe, can't imagine what it'll be like in America seeing how the government managed the pandemic...
 
FuturePilot said:
I’d have to disagree. I think within the next year masks are going to pretty much go away and things are going to return to mostly normal.
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Depends on where you live. In Western Europe and most of Asia yes things will be more "new normal." In the Americas and Africa, not so much as masks will be utilised for longer periods in the those regions as the positivity ratios are currently much higher as are ratios of the populations currently being positive.

A quick glance and excess deaths as a percentage of population demonstrates that with minimal effort required.
 
Jinbei said:
Don't know where you are from but in my country they talk about a third phase next spring. And we'll have to wait until autumn before most of people get a vaccine. And I live in Europe, can't imagine what it'll be like in America seeing how the government managed the pandemic...
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Traditionally one would expect five waves. Western Europe has seen distinct first and second waves, with the inbetween dropping to near zero. Third wave will come due to holiday gathering.
 
I use Strongbox. It can also TouchID, but I dont have Touch ID on my Mac. That was my point. I have FaceID on my iPad, TouchID on my phone, and need to type passwords on my Mac. Out of the three, FaceID is by far the most non intrusive and in my opinion better suited to a Mac. TouchID is great too, just fails more than FaceID. Masks and stuff notwithstanding.
 
cupcakes2000 said:
I use Strongbox. It can also TouchID, but I dont have Touch ID on my Mac. That was my point. I have FaceID on my iPad, TouchID on my phone, and need to type passwords on my Mac. Out of the three, FaceID is by far the most non intrusive and in my opinion better suited to a Mac. TouchID is great too, just fails more than FaceID. Masks and stuff notwithstanding.
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Yeah, I agree for the most part. I think that requiring touchID, which for me is about 30-50 times/day, works really well without breaking my typing speed that much.

If I had to check the angle and lighting with a webcam for faveID it would be a royal PITA.
 
acidfast7_redux said:
Yeah, I agree for the most part. I think that requiring touchID, which for me is about 30-50 times/day, works really well without breaking my typing speed that much.

If I had to check the angle and lighting with a webcam for faveID it would be a royal PITA.
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Yeah I bet it’s great! Miss it on my Mac for sure.
Though a point to note, with my iPad set like a laptop keyboard and mouse etc, I don’t need to move or adjust angles or anything. It’s completely seamless - I don’t even notice it sometimes. Lighting is obviously no problem - it works in the pitch black.
Maybe you have only had experience of it on the phone but the wider field of view on the iPad means you’re rarely to far away (at least relative to where you would be if typing anyway). In fact the biggest faceID issue I have had is when using it as a tablet in bed or something and it failing because I’m to close.
 
cupcakes2000 said:
Yeah I bet it’s great! Miss it on my Mac for sure.
Though a point to note, with my iPad set like a laptop keyboard and mouse etc, I don’t need to move or adjust angles or anything. It’s completely seamless - I don’t even notice it sometimes. Lighting is obviously no problem - it works in the pitch black.
Maybe you have only had experience of it on the phone but the wider field of view on the iPad means you’re rarely to far away (at least relative to where you would be if typing anyway). In fact the biggest faceID issue I have had is when using it as a tablet in bed or something and it failing because I’m to close.
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I'm sure I'll get it in the next iteration. I tend to use the Macs for a while. I'm watching NFL Game Pass right now on a 2008 iMac.
 
acidfast7_redux said:
I'm sure I'll get it in the next iteration. I tend to use the Macs for a while. I'm watching NFL Game Pass right now on a 2008 iMac.
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You sound like me. I replaced my 2014 27” 5k imac (i7) + 2010 17” MacBook Pro (i5) just about this time last year with a 2018 mini (i7) and a 2018 iPad Pro. I only did it becuase my gf dropped my MacBook and smashed the screen (no I still haven’t got over it) and the iMac was about to become vintage. Couldn’t be happier though. Still rocking my 8+ though.
 
cupcakes2000 said:
You sound like me. I replaced my 2014 27” 5k imac (i7) + 2010 17” MacBook Pro (i5) just about this time last year with a 2018 mini (i7) and a 2018 iPad Pro. I only did it becuase my gf dropped my MacBook and smashed the screen (no I still haven’t got over it) and the iMac was about to become vintage. Couldn’t be happier though. Still rocking my 8+ though.
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Yeah. I just like to get my use out of stuff. It also sets a good example for my daughter to keep things in good working order. We're mostly a second+hand family though.
 
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acidfast7_redux said:
Yeah. I just like to get my use out of stuff. It also sets a good example for my daughter to keep things in good working order. We're mostly a second+hand family though.
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I use my stuff for work- I’m a photographer. So need to keep quite up to date. Testament to apples stuff though, it’s keeps up quite well for years and years.
 
Jinbei said:
Don't know where you are from but in my country they talk about a third phase next spring. And we'll have to wait until autumn before most of people get a vaccine. And I live in Europe, can't imagine what it'll be like in America seeing how the government managed the pandemic...
Click to expand...

acidfast7_redux said:
Depends on where you live. In Western Europe and most of Asia yes things will be more "new normal." In the Americas and Africa, not so much as masks will be utilised for longer periods in the those regions as the positivity ratios are currently much higher as are ratios of the populations currently being positive.

A quick glance and excess deaths as a percentage of population demonstrates that with minimal effort required.
Click to expand...

In the US the current predictions are by summer things should be starting to get back to normal.
 
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