Apple developers continue to work on voice recognition technology called Voice ID. This follows from materials published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which registered a patent with corresponding content. The future interface will be able to capture the user's voice timbre characteristics and vocal cord vibrations, which will eventually replace Face ID. According to developers, this method will be more advanced and won't have the drawbacks that Face ID has.
The description of the invention indicates that Apple plans to use this technology specifically for unlocking the smartphone, rather than for recognizing people when working with Siri. Experts note that voice unlocking will be even simpler than facial recognition, as it won't require the user to be in the smartphone's field of view. All that will be needed is to say a code phrase, after which the iPhone will analyze it and either unlock or prompt for a passcode.
Unlocking the smartphone using voice
Asking your smartphone to unlock itself with voice, without touching it, like with Face ID and Touch ID, is more convenient. For example, if you've placed your smartphone on a table and your hands are busy, you just need to say the code phrase and the smartphone will unlock. However, even if the technology doesn't completely replace other identification methods 100%, it can still become quite popular among users, at least in certain situations.
Does Voice ID have any drawbacks?
Voice unlocking for iPhone, besides its obvious advantages, also has drawbacks that many users may consider critical. For instance, voice unlocking might put users in an awkward position when talking to their phone. Building constructive communication between users and Siri is impossible for many precisely because of embarrassment, as many are afraid of being overheard.
Also, few people would want to publicly disclose their code phrases, which could turn the technology into an unlocking method that can only be used without others listening in. Although voice identification depends on timbre and speech characteristics, people will unlikely get used to the fact that everyone around them will know their password.