Apple might be bringing Face ID to the Mac

While newer iPhones and iPads already have the feature, Macs do not yet have Face ID. However, Apple might be working to bring facial recognition to its computers, as there are references to the TrueDepth camera on macOS Big Sur — coming later this year.

The TrueDepth camera is what enables Face ID in iPhone and iPad devices, but no Macs that are currently available have one. Code in the macOS Big Sur beta extension suggests references of the “PearlCamera”, which is Apple’s codename for the TrueDepth camera.

Codes similar to those being used by iOS, like “FaceDetect” and “BioCapture” were also found in the same extension. Still, the implementation is still in the early stages, so it might take some time before Apple officially announces a new Mac model with Face ID.

So far, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro currently feature Touch ID being integrated into the keyboard. Having Face ID in something like an iMac would be much more practical as the iMac doesn’t have Touch ID built-in on the Magic Keyboard.

Apple also expects to ship the first Mac with Apple Silicon by the end of the year. The company confirmed that new Macs running with Apple SoCs will have the same Neural Engine as iPhone and iPad.

While it will be some time before we get further details about how Face ID will work on the Mac, you can currently unlock your Mac instantly with an Apple Watch. All you have to do is to enable auto unlock. So while wearing your watch, you can wake up your Mac and it will unlock by itself without entering your password.