Apple this week unveiled the M5 MacBook Pro, but fans looking for a major change will need to wait until next year, when the rumored M6 arrives with a touchscreen OLED display and a notchless display. However, there could be an even bigger change on the horizon.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is “exploring another Mac change” in addition to bringing multitouch to the display. He reports that Apple is working on “a shift from the Touch ID fingerprint scanner to Face ID” for future Macs. However, he notes that the change is still “years away.”
Mac users have been clamoring for Face ID in a Mac ever since the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models arrived in 2022. The redesigned MacBook display featured a notch for the first time to visually mimic the iPhone, even though the MacBook’s notch didn’t contain the same array of TrueDepth sensors. People naturally assumed the notch meant Face ID was coming to the MacBook, but it still hasn’t arrived.
The latest rumor says Apple will be removing the notch in favor of a hole-punch similar to the Dynamic Island, but Gurman’s rumor gives hope that Face ID will arrive one day.
However, as Gurman reports, the feature is still years away. On the PC side, many laptops are available with support for Windows Hello facial recognition built in, but reports say Apple is still working on making the Face ID sensors thin enough to fit in the MacBook display.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.