Apple patents Apple TV remote with Touch ID

Apple has been granted a patent for an Apple TV remote with inbuilt Touch ID sensor, allowing users to use their biometric data to enter TV passwords, created personalised profiles or controlling connected devices.

The patent, filed in January 2014, explores how biometric information collected through fingerprint sensors could be harnessed to personalise user profiles and acess accounts without the need for 'annoying and/or burdensome' logins.

Data could also be supplied through retinal or facila images, palm, toe or hand prints, voice samples and gesture patterns, according to the filing.

Apple introduced Touch ID fingerprint scanning with the iPhone 5s, which used a fingerprint scanner implemented into the circular home button to unlock the phone and make iTunes purchases through identity verification. The technology has since been extended to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. More recently Touch ID has been utilised to verify purchases made through Apple Pay, including TfL journeys.

The company recently announced that Apple TV would serve as a hub for HomeKit-enabled devices, Apple's platform for connected products. Integrating a Touch ID sensor into a remote would make switching between user profiles a swifter process than inputting login details manually, and allow only certain users to access content, such as 18-rated films or similar.

Biometric identification could also lead to suggested videos, songs, films, TV shows and adverts based on prior watching habits of the user. The TV could, the filing states, configure itself to address users individually, such as "Hello Fred, shall we set me up for you?"

Apple TV was launched in 2007, and is now in its third generation. The company is rumoured to be launching its own online TV service, in association with US broadcasters including ABC, CBS and Fox. Apple struck a deal with HBO to secure early streaming access for the latest series of Game of Thrones back in March.