It's likely that Apple will announce new versions of its iPad Pro sometime this spring, a year after the relatively minor changes in the 2020 version. The M1 Macs, using Apple's own chips, point to a future where the line between Macs and iPads gets very fuzzy indeed.
And even the entry-level model with 8GB of RAM I've tried seems like more than enough to handle just about anything I'd need. The laptop, while unexciting in design, is utterly smooth and instant in function. But I've been using Apple's most recent M1 MacBook Air and it's changed my mind. I've always thought of the iPad as the more likely path to the computer I'd prefer in an ideal future universe. It's 2021 now, and iPads and Macs are still two totally distinct Apple product lines. I've been thinking thoughts like that since. It's been nearly five years since I wrote an impassioned story about how Macs and iPads need to merge.
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about the Mac system for over a decade.The 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the MacBook Air: they're becoming more alike than you think. Good luck setting your MacBook up exactly how you prefer! If you want to switch it back and re-enable this feature, note that you’ll go to the same place and just recheck that box. Problem solved, fingerprint no longer able to unlock your Mac system. Uncheck that, close the window, log out and you’ll now see a different login prompt: You can delete your fingerprint from here entirely if you want, or retain its functionality with other parts of MacOS X by simply unchecking the box “ Unlocking your Mac“. Now you’ll be in the System Preferences pane for Touch ID and it’ll look like this: To launch from the Spotlight results either press Return when the correct item’s highlighted or just double click on the icon on the right. Log in and then use the great Mac Spotlight feature to search for “touch id”:Īs you can see, it’s a System Preference. You can see above it indicates you can log in with either Touch ID or you can enter your password. If it’s enabled when you go to log in you’ll doubtless see something like this: Still, let’s disable fingerprint login from your Mac system anyway, just so you can rest easy at night. It isn’t possible for someone to reverse engineer your actual fingerprint image from this stored data.” Touch ID doesn’t store any images of your fingerprint, and instead relies only on a mathematical representation. “The chip in your device includes an advanced security architecture called the Secure Enclave, which was developed to protect your passcode and fingerprint data. I should note that Apple stores your fingerprint data in an encrypted format so it should be pretty darn safe. Certainly takes some of the risk out, without any sharp objects or crude surgery being involved. At the simplest, you can also delete it all and simply not have your fingerprint scanned and saved on your computer. Then again, perhaps you do work for the National Security Agency or some foreign equivalent and it is a legitimate concern! (Of course those agencies have much more stringent identity and credential systems, but that’s another story…)Īnyway it turns out that you can gain control over your biometrics and what they can control on your MacOS X system and your iPhone too, for that matter. You must have some hella interesting or valuable data on your Mac to worry about the risk of someone using your finger – detached from the rest of you! – to log in to your computer! Maybe Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible or Jason Bourne or James Bond might face that risk, but even then outside of Hollywood special effects, I’m not convinced it’d work or be worth the effort anyway.