--- title: "Apple’s New AR Headset Scans Your Eyeballs to Unlock" description: "Apple's expensive new headset can simply register your eyes via a feature called Optic ID by scanning the wearer's irises." date: "2023-06-06" modified: "2023-06-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/apple-ar-headset-scans-eyeballs-unlock" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "apple" - "iris scanner" - "the digest" - "vr headsets" --- # Apple’s New AR Headset Scans Your Eyeballs to Unlock ![Apple's expensive new headset can simply register your eyes via a feature called Optic ID by scanning the wearer's irises.]() *\Image: Apple\* ## Apple of the Eye On Monday, Apple made a huge splash by [revealing its long-awaited Vision Pro]() mixed-reality headset. The headset, which will retail for an eye-watering $3,499, still [impressed observers]() with a sleek design and inteferace, as well as high degree of audiovisual fidelity and — maybe most importantly — a vision for augmented reality that goes beyond [Facebook's much-lampooned metaverse](). It's radically new ground for Apple, which has waited for years to enter a market that has [already failed]() to get much of the mainstream on board, even with headsets that cost only a small fraction of what Apple will be charging. Still, there are aspects that feel buzzy and fresh. Even unlocking the device — the equivalent of Face ID on your iPhone — is a sizable step forward for the tech giant. During the setup process, the headset can register your eyes via a feature called Optic ID by scanning your irises. Sure it's a little creepy from a [privacy standpoint](), but it just feels so refreshingly sci-fi. ## Game Scan As [*The Verge* points out](), it's the company's third biometric authentication system, expanding on Touch ID, a fingerprint-scanning tech, and the aforementioned Face ID, which scans your entire face with infrared light. Apple has also historically limited sensitive biometric data to a carved-out space on its device's storage. The Vision Pro will be no different, and will store iris data on a Secure Enclave partition. But whether the tech giant's new eye-scanning tech will be more secure than previous attempts remains to be seen. Samsung introduced an iris scanner in its S8 smartphone back in 2017 — which was [promptly fooled by hackers]() using an IR image and a contact lens. Given Apple's track record, however, the company likely didn't skimp on data security or privacy. The concerns could extend beyond mere data security, though. Experts [have warned]() that Meta-formerly-Facebook, for instance, could be harvesting facial recognition data with its Quest line of virtual reality headsets to glean a person's interests or emotional state. In the end, like everything else involving the high-stakes headset, we'll probably just have to see it in action. **More on the headset:** *[Apple's Bizarre Headset Has Front-Facing Screen Showing User's Eyes]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()