With Apple acquiring Israeli-based RealFace, a company which specialises in deep learning based, face authentication technology, it would not be surprising if the next i-device moves away from fingerprint-based authentication to facial recognition.

Turns out that the rumours surrounding Apple exploring facial recognition tech for signing-in on its device might after all have some merit.

According to a report that appeared in Calcalist, Apple has acquired an Israeli startup by the name of RealFace which develops deep learning based, face authentication technology.

Although the terms of the deal has yet to be made public, but Apple has supposedly paid “several million dollars” for RealFace.

When asked to respond to requests for comments, Apple declined to comment. As for RealFace, the company has recently taken down its website and has left nothing but a bare minimum server behind.

Although Apple is no stranger to buying companies who specialize in facial recognition technology, RealFace’s focus on using facing recognition for authentication is a logical step for Apple as it strives to go beyond fingerprint-based iPhone logins.

Face recognition technology could quickly and consistently sign you in during most situations.

Furthermore, RealFace’s artificial technology is also highly accurate thereby eliminating finicky implementations.