Face ID

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Eye Tracking is the Holy Grail of Advertising

Andrew Orr ·

Avi Bar-Zeev, who works on AR/VR/MR, says that eye tracking is the holy grail of advertising (And he’s all for it). While I don’t disagree with that point, I do wonder how prevalent it will become. For example, when Face ID first came out, there was a fear that it could be exploited for eye tracking ads. But that isn’t possible because Apple locks down its technology. I expect the same for Apple Glasses.

Bundled into VR headsets or AR glasses, eye-tracking will, in the near-future, enable companies to collect your intimate and unconscious responses to real-world cues and those they design. Those insights can be used entirely for your benefit. But they will also be seen as priceless inputs for ad-driven businesses, which will learn, model, predict and manipulate your behavior far beyond anything we’ve seen to date.

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Google Investigation Shows Apple Was Right About Face ID

Andrew Orr ·

Take this with a grain of salt because this tweet is all I’ve seen about this. But David Ruddock of AndroidPolice mentioned a Google investigation trying to determine if certain types of fingerprint sensors are secure.

Another CES Story: I’ve heard Google is currently investigating whether current optical fingerprint sensor designs are secure enough to be used for TrustZone auth (mobile payments, banking apps, etc). There is real concern optical FPRs may be too easy to spoof.

Although facial recognition came to Android first, it was there for convenience as a way to unlock your device. But Apple added it for security, and it looks like they bet on the right horse.

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Cops Can't Force You to Unlock an iPhone via Face ID, Touch ID

Andrew Orr ·

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that law enforcement can’t force you to unlock an iPhone or iPad via Face ID or Touch ID.

In the United States, a suspect’s property has the potential to be searched by law enforcement officials as part of an investigation, but some items are typically left alone. While people are protected from having to unlock their devices via a passcode, biometric security has been considered fair game for use by investigators, bypassing the passcode rules.

This will certainly set a precedent for the future. Although it doesn’t completely stop the investigation, it does give people a bit more freedom.

Brace Yourselves, the iPad is Getting a Notch

Jim Tanous ·

The launch of iOS 12 beta this week indicates that we’ll see more than a simple performance upgrade to the iPad this year, with several changes pointing to a new design that looks a lot more like the iPhone X, including Face ID, no home button, and a notch.

FaceRig is the Animoji You Wish Apple Made
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FaceRig is the Animoji You Wish Apple Made

Jeff Gamet ·

Animoji on the iPhone X is pretty cool, but with just a handful of emoji faces to choose from it feels a little limited—plus it works only in the Messages app. FaceRig is an app that fixes those problems by giving you loads of characters to choose from, and you can unlock more through credits you earn by using the app. It uses the iPhone X’s facial tracking feature to do its magic, plus you can record videos to share with friends. You can choose from characters that animate in sync with your movement, or masks that overlay your face. FaceRig is free, and it’s already eating up too much of my time.