According to well-connected Bloomberg writer Mark Gurman, Apple’s first Mac with Face ID is unlikely to be a MacBook since the technology required to put the identification electronics into a tiny laptop display has not yet been developed.
Gurman’s most recent opinions on the matter were published in the “Power On” newsletter’s Q&A section, which may be found here. Gurman says the following on whether Face ID will ever be available on the Mac:
Face ID was planned for the first M1 iMac, but it never materialised. Because Apple’s laptops have relatively thin displays, it is only natural that the iMac is the thickest Mac with a built-in display. It is not yet possible to integrate Face ID into the thin MacBook displays due to a lack of available technologies. So, if Face ID ever makes it to the Mac, I expect it to be on an iMac or an external display at the very least. Apple has undoubtedly been working on this, but only time will tell whether or not they will release it.
Apple’s Face ID facial recognition technology was first shown in 2017 with the release of the iPhone X, and it has since been adopted by the company’s following iPhones and iPads. Rumors have also hinted that a future Mac would use Face ID as well.
When Gurman brought up the subject in July 2021, he stated that he believed Apple intended to launch its first Mac with Face ID “within a couple of years.” He also stated that Apple had originally planned to include Face ID in the 2021 24-inch iMac, but that the inclusion was delayed due to the all-in-one machine’s redesign in the following year.
Rumors have circulated that Apple has been testing Face ID for its next bigger iMac, which has been given the working title of ” iMac Pro,” but this has not been verified, and it is uncertain whether Face ID will be included in the final release version of the machine.
Aside from the technological constraints, there are also certain practical concerns with regard to the adoption of Face ID on a Mac computer system. For example, unlocking a Mac from sleep using Face ID seems to be quite easy, but utilising it to authenticate operations such as purchases would probably either the usage of a physical button push or the use of both Touch ID and Face ID in concert with each other.
In terms of Face ID on future iPhones, Apple is trying to reduce the notch that contains the technology required for Face ID on at least some of the iPhone 14 models. Display expert Ross Young has predicted that certain iPhone 14 models would include a pill-shaped cutout as well as a circular cutout. The Face ID dot projector will most likely be housed in the circular hole, while the pill-shaped cutout will likely contain the front camera, Face ID infrared camera, and potentially other components.
Additionally, Gurman’s last email repeated that Apple is preparing to conduct a virtual event on Tuesday, March 8 to announce new iPhone SE and iPad Air models, both of which are believed to contain an A15 CPU and 5G capability, in addition to the issue of Face ID on Mac.