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Attention detection: interact with an iPhone 8 just by looking at it

Soon, your iPhone will know whether you’re looking it at

After a flurry of findings in leaked software from Apple, it’s now the accepted wisdom that the iPhone 8 will include advanced facial recognition technology. But a new report indicates that this new tech could be used for more than just unlocking the device…

We understand that the iPhone 8 will include 3D infrared sensors that can recognize faces in any light conditions and even at odd angles. This latest discovery suggests that these front-facing sensors will include eye-scanning capabilities that can track where you’re looking.

One of the benefits of this is that it will allow you to silence incoming notifications just by looking at them, and unlock your iPhone with a glance. iOS developer Guilherme Rambo discovered a piece of code called “Attention Awareness Observer” which looks like a function to track whether the user is looking at the screen or not.

So the iPhone 8 could check who you are and whether you’re paying attention, all at the same time. The possibilities for this futuristic tech are pretty cool, if a little creepy. It’ll be interesting to see the use cases Apple show off when the iPhone 8 is unveiled.

If you think this all sounds a bit too sci-fi and intrusive for your liking, never fear – it’s expected Apple will include the ability to shut these features off if you’d rather not use them.