14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has gone all-in on facial recognition for the iPhone X, and now it looks like the company is set to bring the same feature to other devices as well, including the iPad.
Well-known Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo of KGI Securities says the first to get it will be the iPad Pro, with the 10.5- and 12.9-inch models part of the next generation to be upgraded with facial recognition cameras.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the addition of Face ID to the iPad would happen overnight. The next refresh to the iPad Pro is expected in 2018, so the company has plenty of time to improve the technology and get it ready for the tablet.
Touch ID + Face ID
But what’s going to be more interesting will be the way the company deals with the fingerprint recognition sensor. On the iPhone X, Apple removed Touch ID completely after failing to embed the fingerprint sensor into the display, but on the iPad, there’s no need for such a dramatic change given the large bezels.
What Apple could do, however, is remove the bezels on the iPad as well and go for an all-screen design, which would, in turn, mean that the fingerprint sensor would be removed and the facial recognition system would just blend in perfectly.
The first iPad models getting Face ID could be offered with both authentication systems, the analyst notes, though he doesn’t rule out the possibility of seeing Touch ID go away at some point in the future. Apple has always tried to keep iPads and iPhones in sync with a similar look and feel, so removing Touch ID and betting big on Face ID could be what the company is aiming for on the tablet as well.
The iPhone X, which will feature facial recognition system, will go on sale on November 3. Future iPhone models could embrace the same authentication system as well, though for the time being Apple wants to keep it exclusive to the X in an attempt to use it as an incentive for a possible upgrade.