The iOS 12.1 beta has been released this morning, and the code suggested that Apple’s Face ID may have built-in support for landscape orientation from now on. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith thinks that the landscape support for Face ID has been built into the update for upcoming iPad Pro models. Steven Troughton-Smith’s tweet regarding this matter read –
Face ID has support for landscape orientation (presumably for iPad only), and iOS 12.1 seems to care a lot more about whether an external display is connected (perhaps due to iPad USB-C rumors; it won't have the Lighting HDMI adapter as an intermediary for video-out)
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 18, 2018
The landscape mode for the iPad is necessary because it becomes difficult to unlock an iPad using Face ID only in portrait mode, especially for those larger tablets which are most often used in a horizontal position. In most of Apple devices, the Face ID works only when used in portrait mode. Even in the latest iPhones announced at this year’s Apple event, iPhone XS and XS Max, the Face ID works only in portrait mode. They are unable to recognize a face when held in landscape mode.
The problem of how Apple will implement Face ID in the iPad Pro models arises with the rumors of having landscape mode Face ID. Some have come up with the idea that Apple would include a new mystery port that’s supposedly a Smart Connector at the back of the device leaked cases and CAD drawings. Smith has also found a code in the beta to support an upcoming change to MFi game controllers that will offer up compatibility with clickable thumbsticks and iOS 12.1. Even though Apple has not announced release dates for the new iPad Pros, it is expected that Apple will launch them before the end of the year, and perhaps at an upcoming event in October.
