Once again, Apple has found itself in the courtroom, as it is being sued again.
This time, Cupertino's legal troubles have to do with the iPhone and, more specifically, with the Face ID functionality.
"We developed it"
Cupertino is in hot waters again. | Image by Apple
As it is often the case, the legal dispute is over an alleged patent infringement. In this case, the well-known and reputable German company BASF (it's big in the chemical industry) is the one that has its crosshairs on Apple.
BASF says that numerous iPhone and iPad models have infringed on the company's patented face authentication technology, per Reuters.
There's a BASF startup subsidiary called trinamiX. This unit is specializing in advanced biometric 3D imaging and mobile material analysis. Which means that trinamiX is trying to outsmart smart con artists who may unlock your device by "using photographs, 3D-printed masks and silicone replicas".
Which iPhones have it?
BASF alleges that the iPhone X (from 2017) didn't use its trinamiX unit's patented technology. But it's used without permission in modern-day devices like the iPhone 17, iPhone 16, iPhone 15 and numerous iPad devices.
Per BASF, "Apple knew or should have known of the high probability that updating its iPhones and iPads to incorporate Face ID using material and skin detection" would infringe on no less than seven trinamiX patents.
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Face unlocking and more
Although face-unlocking capabilities were presented as early as 2011 with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Apple took some more years and introduced Face ID in 2017. However, it's a completely different beast nowadays.
Apple's Face ID relies on dedicated TrueDepth hardware to project over 30,000 invisible infrared dots, building a detailed 3D geometric map of your face that works even in darkness and can't be fooled by photos. In contrast, the vast majority of Android devices trade dedicated 3D depth sensors for a cleaner display, relying instead on the front camera and software algorithms for standard 2D facial recognition.
While higher-end Android phones like recent Pixels use advanced machine learning to make 2D recognition secure enough for banking apps, they still fall short in low-light environments compared to Apple.
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Sebastian is one of PhoneArena’s senior opinionators. A veteran news writer with almost 20 years of experience in media and technology, he not only covers all the hot news about Galaxies and iPhones, but often provides hot takes on industry trends. He’s fascinated with camera-focused flagships from the likes of Oppo and Vivo, as well as foldable phones.
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