A new Apple patent shows that FaceID on Mac laptops, iMacs still a possibility

Folks have been wondering when FaceID will come to the Mac. Well, we’ll keep wondering, but a newly granted Apple patent shows that it’s still a possibility.

About the patent

Dubbed ”Light Recognition Module for Determining a User of a Computing Device,” the patent involves a biometric authentication module. In it, Apple underscores the need for preventing unauthorized users from accessing data on devices.

The patent doesn’t specifically mention FaceID. Instead it refers to “a light pattern recognition module that may be incorporated within a computing device (e.g., a laptop computer, a notebook, a desktop computer, etc.).”

This is a concept of an iMac with FaceID features.

Summary of the patent

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “This application relates to a laptop computer. The laptop computer includes a base portion pivotally coupled to a lid portion is described. The laptop computer includes a display assembly carried by the lid portion, where the display assembly includes a light-transmissive cover, a display layer overlaid by the light-transmissive cover, a display stack electrically coupled to and overlaid by the display layer, and a light pattern recognition module adjacent to the display stack and overlaid by the display layer. The light pattern recognition module includes (i) a light pattern projector that projects a light pattern directly through the display layer.”

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