Apple invented 'Facial Recognition' aparently

[Simian]

Just spotted this on Farcebook!

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/gadget-news/five-apple-plans-that-still-havent-materialised

Apple’s latest iPhone 5s includes its biometric sensing Touch ID tech to unlock your phone with your thumbprint, but now it looks like the Californian giant is looking at other body parts to unlock your phone with: your face, for example. The Telegraph reports that Apple has filed a new patent that could use facial recognition tech to unlock your phone, or to hide information.

But my Nexus 4 and 7 and bags of other Android Phones have been doing this since the Galaxy S3 and Ice Cream Sandwich about 2 years ago!!

 

[Pinkribbonscars]

To be fair, the ICS version worked so poorly that it was pointless and if Apple can find a way to do it properly then fair play to them - look at how much better their implementation of the fingerprint scanner is than HTC's for example.

 

[Rusty!]

The FaceUnlock that was released with 4.0 was indeed pants, but it got a lot better as the version numbers increased.

 

[Mr Paul]

Doesn't matter, they can't patent something that already exists..... oh wait, it's the good old USA, cause they can lol

 

[DAnDan]

In all fairness it doesn't say they invented it. It's fairly common for a company to patent a specific method of doing something.

I'd just come to post the same thing. I read the article expecting them to give some wild comment about apple inventing it, but they really didn't. Quite a misleading title really!

And you're absolutely correct about the patents, just because a broad topic has patents already, doesn't mean there aren't new/different/improved ideas that still deserve patenting.

 

[Tunney]

I'm guessing the OP didn't read the original article? This goes way beyond the functionality of what's currently available on Android.

 

[Tuvoc]

Nevertheless, the patent system is broken, and abused.