Employees within Apple have been discretely testing a much beefier external Face ID module that sits within a case surrounding an iPhone 12 that can confirm your identity behind foggy glasses and even so far as a mask altogether, according to a new report by Jon Prosser's Front Page Tech

The module, which is almost reminiscent of the bulky cases Apple Store employees used to use to scan barcodes, houses a decently large sensor system atop the current iPhone 12 Face ID scanner. As the report entails, the system will most definitely not be launching alongside the upcoming iPhone 13 series releasing next month - especially considering that for the first time this year Apple will be shrinking the notch entirely by about 25 per cent. However, if the Cupertino company can figure out a way to reduce the size of the more advanced Face ID technology, it wouldn't be a shocker to see it find its way onto the iPhone 14 or even an iPhone 15. 

Apple is secretly testing an external Face ID sensor that can read your face even under a mask photo 2
Front Page Tech

Of course, real life implementation at this point is nothing more than an assumption, as it's clear Apple tests countless products and configurations that never make it past the internal testing stage - like the touch screen MacBook the company so rarely revealed it's taken a stab at before back during the Steve Jobs era. 

Prosser also stresses that Apple is placing a lot emphasis on testing the new system with foggy glasses, as once the COVID-19 pandemic comes to end eventually, foggy glasses will remain as one of the top problems ailing the current Face ID system. 

Again, while this updated technology will almost certainly not reach the iPhone 13 next month, you can read up on all the information we know about it by clicking right here