Last week, Apple accidentally released[1] an early build of the HomePod firmware. Guilherme Rambo[2] has been digging around a library file to spot strings and references that hint at future products and features. In particular, he just noticed that the next iPhone will be able to detect when you’re looking at the screen so that it can silence your notifications.
I looked around the HomePod firmware and found the same references to this “supportsAttenuatingTonesForAttentionDetected” class.
Based on previous leaks, Apple has been working on some mysterious face detection technology[3]. This technology codenamed “Pearl ID” should replace the Touch ID sensor altogether.
It seems like the next flagship iPhone is going to feature two front-facing cameras as well as an infrared sensor. This way, you could unlock your phone using your face even if you’re in the dark, even if you’re not looking directly at your phone.
Today’s news is a bit surprising as it means that your iPhone is going to track your face at all times. That’s how Apple can silence notifications and vibrations if you’re looking at your phone because a banner should be enough.
But Apple could use face tracking for many different things. For instance, you could unlock your iPhone by just looking at your notifications on the lock screen. When you’re ready to unlock it, your iPhone will already know that you’re looking at your phone so it should be instantaneous.
Similarly, password managers, banking apps, file management apps and other sensitive apps have been using Touch ID as an additional security layer. If your phone is always aware that you’re looking at it, apps could skip this screen entirely. Or iOS could lock itself automatically if you...