Apple patent application details future iPhones, iPads that recognize, adjust for individual users

“The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week revealed a patent application from Apple entitled “Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device.” The security-centric invention describes methods to identify users through a picture, the sound of their voice, or even their unique heartbeat,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider. “‘The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match,’ the application reads. ‘If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.'”

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“If an unauthorized user were to attempt to access an iPhone or another device, the owner of the handset could be notified in a variety of manners, including a phone call, text message or e-mail. It could even send the owner — or the police — a picture of the unauthorized user, or other information specific to the potential thief, such as the current location,” Hughes reports.

Hughes reports, “But beyond security, such technology could also be used to identify individual users and allow users who share a product, like an iPad, to customize it to their liking.”

Read more in the full article, which includes Apple’s patent application illustrations, here.