If you use facial recognition login systems like Face ID or Windows Hello, you’ll probably know the trouble it has with recognising you while wearing a mask. With COVID-19 not going away anytime soon, it seems as though Apple are already taking the necessary steps to get their Face ID to work with masked faces.
According to a report by Front Page Tech, the folks over at Cupertino are testing some new Face ID hardware set for the iPhone 13 lineup. To do so, they’ve actually developed a case that goes on the iPhone 12 and adds the prototype Face ID hardware to the current gen device. This case lets the iPhone 12 use the new Face ID sensors in the case, bypassing its own Face ID array.
Looking at the leaked renders of the case, the camera array in it seems to line up with previous leaks of the iPhone 13 design. It’s not as wide as the iPhone 12’s front camera array, hinting at a smaller notch. The actual selfie camera itself has also been shifted to the left, compared to the right-sided selfie cameras on the iPhone 12.
Front Page Tech also goes on to claim that Apple employees are not just being masked up while testing their new Face ID hardware. They’re also having to wear glasses, conducting tests with and without masks, with and without glasses on, and also testing the Face ID while wearing glasses in outdoor conditions. Apple are also apparently looking to get the new Face ID to work with foggy glasses, a common occurrence while wearing masks.
If the upcoming iPhone 13 line up does include this new Face ID, it could be quite an appealing feature for Apple users everywhere during the ongoing pandemic. As most iPhone users will tell you, Face ID could no longer unlock your device when you were masked. Apple even released an update for the Apple Watch that allowed it to unlock your iPhone as a way to circumvent the issue.
That being said, there’s no word just yet that this new Face ID will come with the iPhone 13, at least at launch. However, seeing that Apple are testing the new features using the iPhone 13’s camera array, we could expect it on iPhone 13 series at the least as a future software update.
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