Apple files patent application for Face ID on MacBook and iMac

Apple has filed a patent application for the use of Face ID on MacBooks and iMacs. The described module for authentication works exactly the same as Face ID on iPhones and iPads, according to the application.

For example, the module can be placed in a notch above the screen, as Apple describes in the application. For several generations, MacBooks have had a design with a notch in the screen at the top. This now includes the front camera, but Face ID also requires a dot projector, floodlight and infrared camera.

Apple has been using Face ID on iPhones since 2017 and on iPads since 2019. The manufacturer has been installing its Touch ID fingerprint scanner on laptops for several years, but that also happened years after its implementation on iPhones.

A patent application is no guarantee that Apple will use the technology, but it shows that Apple is at least working on it. Many other laptops already have facial recognition via infrared on board. It is unknown when Apple would like to release its macOS devices with Face ID.