• Fast Company, Tuesday, July 26, 2011 12:27 PM

Aided by its 2010 acquisition of face recognition firm Polar Rose, Apple is reportedly planning a deep integration of the technology into its forthcoming iOS5 operating system. "This is huge news, for all the reasons that Google's use of face recognition in its online offerings could change much about the Web," assures Fast Company.

"By adding controls into iOS' API, Apple's allowing third-party apps to access the core face recognition tech." As a result, in the very near future, Fast Company predicts that game makers will track face positions for "an unusual mode of input." Apps like Instagram will automatically tag people's faces, while "smart video apps" will use facial cues to do digital image stabilization.

Another recent Apple purchase, Siri, is also showing up in the latest developer builds of iOS5, "alongside evidence that Apple's including code it acquired as part of its deal with voice recognition experts Nuance," notes Fast Company. "What Apple seems to be doing is [enabling] smart voice control in iOS5 along the lines of 'set up a meeting with mark on Wednesday at 11 a.m.'"

Read the whole story at Fast Company »