In a post on AppleInsider reporter Aidan Malley is reporting a “stealth” development effort at Apple that could result in protecting iPhones with a selected biometric. According to the report, Apple published a patent filing indicating that it would use an embedded sensor or a component “repurposed from its original role” to capture biometric data that provides confidence that the individual trying to gain access to the whole device or to personal data on the device is, indeed, who he or she claims to be.

The article mentions flat screens, keyboards, or front-facing cameras as candidates for capturing unique biometric attributes such as fingerprints, vein patterns or iris coloration and patterns. Nothing is out of bounds. Malley notes that “Apple goes so far as to suggest the possibility of recognizing the user’s distinctive voice or even collecting DNA samples to recognize a user’s genetic sequence. Biometrics could also be context-sensitive and detect the shape of a user’s ear before allowing a call to go through, for example.”

Thus there is hope for voice biometric authentication to be featured on what has emerged to be the showcase, forward-looking smartphone for industrial design, application diversity and features (in the U.S. at least). Voice should be the most sensible biometric authentication method in the context of using a phone.

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