Apple Debuts 6-User HomeView With New Person Recognition, Bypassing FaceID
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Nov 12
Apple Debuts 6-User HomeView With New Person Recognition, Bypassing FaceID
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · Nov 12
Summary
Friday’s HomeView launch lets up to six people share one device, switching between iCloud-linked profiles with ambient face and voice cues instead of FaceID or TouchID.
Apple says FaceID was a poor fit because HomeView must identify multiple users quickly and run AI-heavy processing that cannot be confined to the Secure Enclave.
Secure Exclave—a memory-protected area in newer Apple chips—handles the device’s video and audio checks, while HomeView also requires a recently unlocked iPhone or iPad on the same Wi-Fi network before exposing private data.
Apple said it formally verified the Secure Exclave microkernel and also uses the architecture to protect camera and microphone indicator lights on HomeView and MacBook Neo.
The shift still broadens Apple’s biometric attack surface: HomeView’s person recognition is described as less comprehensive than FaceID and potentially more vulnerable to 3D depth-map or voiceprint attacks.