Future iPhone & iPad Versions Could Personalize Automatically

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An interesting report making the rounds suggests that Apple may be looking to take a cue from the folks over at Android for a change, and the idea has emerged thanks to recently unearthed patents that suggest Apple’s got a plan to make your iPhone or iPad of choice recognize your face.

Basically, what Apple has in mind, from the recently discovered patents, is to use a combination of front-facing cameras and facial recognition software to yield what Apple’s patent calls “Low Threshold Face Recognition”. And Apple’s got an interesting spin on this somewhat familiar concept: rather than using the software to analyze the whole face of a user, which would pull a lot of juice off the battery from the enhanced processor cycles that would be required, it’s instead going to use parts of the face.

Dubbed “high information portion(s)”, these parts include things like eyes, mouths, and tips of noses, which are all often different from those of other users. And once the software in question can identify the face of the person using it, it can then perform a variety of tasks, like launching unique wallpapers or settings, or offering certain apps that aren’t available to other users.

And if this idea sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because Google is actually already using it in its Face Unlock system, part of Ice Cream Sandwich, which is still in the opening stages of rolling out onto devices. Of course, it’s not clear whether Apple’s system would fall prey to some of the problems that Face Unlock had in its opening stages, but it’s doubtless something Apple will want to watch out for.

There’s also no word as to when, if ever, we’ll actually see this service made available for use on iPhones and iPads out there. But still, Apple’s got a pretty good idea here, so good that Google’s already doing it to some extent.

But what do you guys think about this one? Will Apple’s face recognition system prove better than Android’s? Or will we see Google and Apple in court in the near future? No matter what your opinion on this matter, we welcome it down in the comments section below!