Apple has bought Israeli startup RealFace, a cybersecurity and machine learning firm specializing in facial recognition technology.
The Times of Israel reported on Sunday that the Tel Aviv-based company, founded in 2014, was snapped up by Apple for an estimated $2 million, while Hebrew-language Calcalist said the deal was worth "several million dollars".
RealFace's website is currently offline, but according to promotional material, the startup had developed a unique facial recognition technology that integrates artificial intelligence and "brings back human perception to digital processes". RealFace's software is said to use proprietary IP in the field of "frictionless face recognition" that allows for rapid learning from facial features.
The Israeli startup also developed a now-defunct app called Pickeez, which selected and collated a user's best photos across various platforms using the RealFace recognition software.
According to iPhone 8 rumors, Apple may ditch Touch ID along with the physical home button, in favor of a facial recognition-capable front-facing 3D laser scanner, although with the RealFace acquisition coming at such a late time, it's unlikely that the any of the startup's technology will feature.
RealFace is the fourth Israel-based firm Apple is known to have acquired. In 2011 it bought flash memory maker Anobit for a reported $400 million, then in November 2013 it acquired 3D sensor company PrimeSense for an estimated $345 million. Most recently in 2015, Apple bought LinX for around $20 million.
Top Stories
Leaker Claims New 13-inch MacBook Pro Coming as Soon as Next Month
Apple will announce a new 13-inch MacBook Pro in May with the codename J223, according to a rumor shared by YouTuber and leaker Jon Prosser. Note: it’s a refresh to the current 13” So the bigger 14” display upgrade is a big possibility— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) April 4, 2020 Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with scissor keyboards ...
iOS 14 Could Offer Home Screen Widgets, Wallpaper Customizations
iOS 14 could offer home screen widgets and wallpaper customizations for the first time, according to 9to5Mac and Twitter user DongleBookPro.
Apple is reportedly working to implement widgets that can be moved freely around like icons on the iPhone and iPad homescreen for the very first time. The feature is reportedly codenamed "Avocado" and no other details are available. It was also...
'Leaked' Images Allegedly Show iPhone 12 With Smaller Notch, Rear Camera Redesign, and Home Screen Widgets
Two images shared on social media this morning are currently stoking speculation about possible hardware redesigns coming to the iPhone 12 and the potential introduction of Home screen widgets in iOS 14.
Shared by Twitter user Fudge (choco_bit), the images depict a front and rear graphical representation of a smartphone with interface elements on the screen, suggesting it came out of a...
More References to Apple's Upcoming Low-Cost iPhone Appear Online
Further references to Apple's upcoming low-cost iPhone have appeared online, one on a Chinese e-commerce website and another on Verizon's smartphone trade-in page.
Spotted by tech blog MySmartPrice, Chinese retailer JD.com has published a placeholder for Apple's so-called "iPhone 9" that includes a teaser image of a veiled smartphone, but other than that it lacks any particularly revealing...
The New York Times, IFTTT, Medium, and Other Apps Adopt Sign in With Apple Ahead of June 30 Deadline
Apps with sign-in functionality, including The New York Times, IFTTT, Medium, and more, have continued to adopt Apple's secure Sign in with Apple feature ahead of a deadline of June 30. The deadline for these apps to support the feature was recently extended from April 30.
Sign in with Apple, first introduced in iOS 13, allows users to create accounts for apps and websites using an Apple ID. ...
Some Users Experiencing System Crashes on macOS 10.15.4, Especially During Large File Transfers
A sizeable number of Mac users are experiencing occasional system crashes after updating to macOS Catalina version 10.15.4, released a few weeks ago.
The crashing issue appears to be most prominent when users attempt to make large file transfers. In a forum post, SoftRAID described the issue as a bug and said that it is working with Apple engineers on a fix for macOS 10.15.5, or a...
Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 13.4.1 With Fix for FaceTime Bug
Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.4.1, minor updates that come two weeks after the release of iOS and iPadOS 13.4, major updates that introduced iCloud Folder Sharing, a new Mail toolbar, trackpad support for the iPad, and more.
The iOS and iPadOS 13.4.1 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to Settings > General...
Top Stories: Apple Leaks iPhone SE and AirTags, Apple Buys Dark Sky, and More
With the calendar rolling over to April this week, we yet again saw several leaks and rumors, most notably including Apple itself leaking some references to a pair of long-rumored products: a new budget iPhone SE and AirTags item trackers.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple also acquired popular weather app Dark Sky, while Amazon's Prime Video app now allows...
Apple Reportedly Targeting WWDC for Over-Ear Headphones Launch, New 'AirPods X' Later in the Year
Rumors of Apple-branded over-ear headphones have been circulating for quite some time, while more recent rumors have mentioned an "AirPods Pro Lite" that could also be in the works, and Twitter leaker Jon Prosser's recent foray into Apple rumors provides a bit more detail on what we might able to expect for these products.
Current Beats Studio3 Wireless and BeatsX On the over-ear side,...
Apple Donating Over 20 Million Masks to Healthcare Professionals, Producing Face Shields With Suppliers
Apple CEO Tim Cook today shared a video message with an update on the company's response to the ongoing pandemic.
Cook said Apple has now sourced over 20 million masks that it is in the process of donating to healthcare professionals around the world. Apple is working with governments to ensure that the masks are donated to the places of greatest need.
Cook added that Apple's design,...
Top Rated Comments
(View all)While I enjoy these articles.... PLEASE stop mentioning the incredibly unlikely scenario of loss of TouchID.
Edit:
When TouchID came out; nobody was saying: "and Apple is removing the ability to use a passcode; you'll be forced to use this feature, whether it's buggy or not"- so I'm unsure why this time around everyone has glommed into this RIDICULOUS rumor, so far only postulated by a single "analyst", based here in America, that has no insider info, or ties w/ the production factories. It really reads like his personal opinion based on nothing other than that.... it's his opinion.
No touch id no buy.
It will definitely have Touch ID in some form. Nobody is going to be using facial recognition to authenticate in store Apple Pay purchases.No touch id no buy.
No way they ditch touch ID. If facial recognition is involved in the next phone it will be as an added feature, not a replacement.