Entering August, Apple's latest iphone16 series mobile phones this year have been finalized, and after the completion of small batch production and testing, in mid-September, iPhone16 series mobile phones will meet consumers. According to Apple's official disclosure, there have been no subversive changes in the basic shape and function of the iPhone16 series of mobile phones, and Apple is likely to continue its "squeezing toothpaste" innovation tradition.
However, a new patent exposed with Apple's iPhone 16 series has attracted the attention of countless technology enthusiasts and electronics enthusiasts, that is, the heartbeat unlock known as Heart ID. Just imagine, when you take out your phone from your pocket, it only needs to feel your heartbeat or pulse rate to automatically unlock it.
From fingerprint unlocking to listening to heartbeats, iPhone continues to lead the way in unlocking technology
In 2003, Japan telecommunications company Fujitsu launched the world's first F505i flip phone that supports fingerprint unlocking function, but the fingerprint recognition technology at that time was not yet mature, only as a design concept, not a practical function.
Therefore, most mobile phone users have to endure the tedious input password to unlock, and in order to use conveniently, many people try to set the boot password as simple and easy to remember, which brings hidden dangers to the security of mobile phones and personal information. Although Motorola and other mobile phone manufacturers have also launched a number of smartphones with fingerprint unlocking function, due to the defects of recognition accuracy, most users still suffer from password unlocking.
Until 2013, Apple released the iPhone 5s mobile phone, which is equipped with Touch ID completely pulled the fingerprint unlock back to reality, "the first press fingerprint recognition", "the most secure Trust Zone technology" has also become one of the biggest selling points of the iPhone 5s, Apple's main security and convenience, forcing the world's high-end mobile phones to begin to vigorously tackle fingerprint unlock technology.
With the increasing popularity of fingerprint unlocking, Apple has changed the track again, launched Face ID and completely replaced Touch ID, allowing users to directly "swipe their face" to unlock mobile phones, iTunes and App Store purchases, and pay for Apple Pay. Compared with the facial recognition launched early in the Samsung Galaxy series and Alipay's face login, Apple's Face ID relies on its powerful image acquisition and recognition algorithms to work normally in indoor black, outdoor bright light, complex background lighting or cold winter environments.
Of course, facial recognition technologies such as Face ID have been subject to controversy since their popularization, especially at present, the iterative development of artificial intelligence technology and network hacking technology has made it possible for some hackers to crack facial recognition security systems and steal users' personal information through 3D processing of photos or other means.
As a technology company that claims to protect the security of users' personal information, Apple is naturally indifferent to potential security threats, so the iPhone Heart ID "heartbeat unlock" technology exposed this time is very likely to be Apple's pre-planned response to the more severe information security situation.
Heartbeat unlocking, can it really make iPhone safer?
Compared with Touch ID fingerprint unlocking and Face ID unlocking, which are based on the external biometrics of the human body, "Heartbeat Unlock", which distinguishes the user's heartbeat rate and pulse characteristics, does theoretically have better security. After all, fingerprints and 3D photographs do have the potential to be accessible, but a person's heartbeat and pulse rate, such as physical characteristics, are not likely to be mastered by others.
According to the technical details announced by Apple, the device equipped with Apple's Heart ID verifies the identity of the device user by recording and identifying bioelectric signals such as the duration of a specific part of the user's heart rhythm or the user's electrocardiogram, that is, the relative intensity of the EKG peak, so as to form a unique "heartbeat pattern" for each person, and then compare it with the stored profile.
Of course, saying "heartbeat unlock" does not mean that users have to place the iPhone on their chest to feel the heartbeat in order to unlock the phone. Previously, Apple has equipped a similar inductive unlocking device on the Apple Watch, which allows the watch to capture the user's heartbeat as long as the user continues to wear the Apple Watch.
In the same way, Apple may also inlay more similar sensors on the bezel and back case of the iPhone in the future, so that mobile phone users only need to hold the iPhone with their hands in the correct posture to unlock it through heart rate information. As we suspected, Apple is bound to set off a new trend in the field of mobile phone unlocking and information security.
However, since the last time Apple launched Face ID, the iPhone has not had major technological innovation for many years, but judging from the number of technical patents that Apple has exposed one after another, Apple does have a lot of innovative ways to "press the bottom of the box", but in recent years, every time a new product is released to repair and supplement the innovation, to a certain extent, it is gradually consuming the expectation of "fruit fans" and reducing everyone's desire for iPhone upgrading.
Therefore, even if Apple's Heart ID heartbeat unlocking technology is indeed quite practical, with Apple's innovation speed of squeezing toothpaste, it may take several years for this convenient unlocking method to really land on the iPhone......