A report on Thursday indicates Apple is working on allowing Mac users to unlock their computer via Touch ID on their iPhone in OS X 10.12.
There has been speculation Apple might introduce dedicated Touch ID fingerprint scanning hardware for the Mac, but as it turns out, Apple is working on a simpler way to allow a Touch ID to unlock a Mac, and it’s a feature that could be included in OS X 10.12.
The report says Apple engineers are working on an automatic unlock function that would allow an iPhone to unlock a Mac when it is in close proximity to the Mac. This would allow iPhone users to unlock their computer without the need to enter a password.
The feature would use Bluetooth LE, and would work similar to the auto unlock feature on the Apple Watch, which unlocks the Watch without needing to enter the 4-digit passcode when the iPhone itself is unlocked.
The Apple Watch itself could also be used as a way to unlock the Mac, which would be similar to the Knock app already available for the iPhone and Apple Watch. The app allows iPhone users to unlock their Mac by knocking on their iPhone twice.
MacRumors says the system used could be a piece of the possible Apple Pay support for web browsers that has also been rumored. Remote Touch ID could be used to authorize Apple Pay purchases in a browser on the Mac.
As always, until Apple actually announces a new feature, this should be considered a rumor. A rumor from a reliable site, but a rumor nonetheless.
