Touch ID Autofill Coming to the MacBook

Apple is looking to further enhance the user experience on its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops with biometric authentication, allowing users to enable an autofill system on their Safari web browsers based on its Touch ID fingerprint scanning system.

Pioneered in Apple’s iPhone devices starting with the iPhone 5S in 2013, the Touch ID system didn’t come to Apple’s MacBook product line until 2016, when it arrived in that year’s MacBook Pro. It came to the MacBook Air just last year, allowing users to do things like unlock their devices and confirm iTunes purchases using a fingerprint scan.

Now, it looks like users will be able to automatically fill in online forms using Touch ID with the forthcoming macOS 10.14.4 software update. The functionality came to light in a beta release of the OS launched this week, with developers discovering a new “Safari AutoFill” option in the Touch ID settings.

It should prove to be a handy feature, and it may point to an even more convenient future for MacBook users if and when Face ID comes to Apple’s computer products. The system is already proving to be a hit on the latest iPhones, allowing users to unlock their devices and confirm transactions just by looking at their phones, so it’s a fair bet that it will eventually make its way to the MacBooks.

Sources: MacRumors, AppleInsider