Code leak: Apple Watch with more biometrics?
If you want to identify yourself to Apple's computer watch, all you need is your PIN. Apparently, a new biometric feature is to be added soon.
Operating the Apple Watch, here with a double tap.
(Image: Apple)
The Apple Watch does not currently have any specific functions for biometric identification. Users put the watch on and enter their PIN. It is then unlocked as long as it has not been removed from the wrist; it can be used for Apple Pay payments, for example, or collects and displays fitness and health data. If you know the PIN, you can use the watch without any other physical feature such as a fingerprint (Touch ID on iPhone, iPad, Mac) or face (Face ID on iPhone, iPad). This is not without danger, as the Apple Watch can be used to access numerous data on the iPhone, to which the computer watch is paired by default. Apparently, Apple is also aware of the problem and is now planning biometrics for the Watch for the first time. This is reported in the US edition of Macworld.
Code name "AppleMesa"
Code has surfaced in the company's internal software that suggests that the Touch ID fingerprint sensor could be used on future Apple Watch models, writes code leak expert Filipe Esposito in the report. Strings in the software reference "AppleMesa" for Apple Watch models for the year 2026, which in turn is the internal code name for Touch ID. According to Esposito, the code is explicitly intended for internal use, so the technology still appears to be in prototype status. Drivers for Touch ID are not yet available for watchOS, for example.
In addition, the new models expected in September 2025 –, i.e. Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and possibly SE 3 – would not be equipped with the technology, according to the report. There are also implementation issues. Touch ID could theoretically be built directly into the Apple Watch screen, but Apple does not use such a fingerprint sensor in any device. Instead, it is located either in a button (formerly the iPhone home button, currently in the MacBook) or in an elongated button (iPad). The latter would also be suitable for the side button of the Apple Watch, should there be enough space.
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Other biometric ideas
It would actually be smarter not to use Touch ID for the Apple Watch, but other biometric features. For example, Apple's pulse, oxygen measurement and/or 1-channel ECG sensors could be used – These have long been in the Watch and should be able to be used with special algorithms for unique identification.
Macworld also writes that Apple is planning a new generation of chips for the 2026 computer watches – the so-called Watch8 family. Apple Watch Series 9, 10 and 11 (plus Ultra 3) are assigned the old "Watch7" generation. The new chip is said to be faster than its predecessor and is internally called T8320 (instead of the current T8310).
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