A recent Apple patent for AirPods that can recognize their owners is super-intriguing.

According to the patent, AirPods might one day be able to identify their wearer. They'll do this by beaming sound into your ear canal to create a detailed virtual map of your inner ear based on the sound waves that bounce back. What?!?!?!

This unique biometric identifier could be used for privacy and security functions. For example, if someone picks up your AirPods and puts them in their ears, the system might recognize the unauthorized user and stop whatever was playing.

Or it might be used to unlock your iPhone instead of Face ID or a passcode.

If you think face masks and Face ID are cumbersome, wait until your Ear ID-equipped AirPods hit the street.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

AirPods with Ear ID could someday unlock your iPhone — www.cultofmac.com

First there was Touch ID, then Face ID. Now Ear ID could be on the way. Apple filed for a patent on a biometric system using AirPods.

Latest iOS beta lets you use Face ID while wearing a mask — www.cultofmac.com

Face ID in iOS 15.4 will let users unlock their iPhones while wearing a mask -- no Apple Watch necessary. The system will scan just the area around the eyes. It comes with a warning that the change makes Face ID less secure, though.

12 reasons to love the iPad on its 12th birthday — www.cultofmac.com

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad exactly 12 years ago today, and the device has evolved enormously since then. Today’s devices can do so much more than their forbearers. Tablets have lived up to Jobs’ vision … and exceeded it. Here are a dozen reasons to love what Apple’s tablet has become.

Get the whole Microsoft Office for Mac suite for just $50 — www.cultofmac.com

Some software is just essential. And we’ve got a hot deal on one of computing’s bedrock software suites: Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021. This six-part bundle comes with the programs that functionally run the professional world. And right now, a lifetime license to these essential Microsoft Office programs is on sale for just $49.99 (regularly $349).

Apple’s boffo quarter easily beats Wall Street expectations — www.cultofmac.com

Apple raked in $123.9 billion in revenue during the last three months of 2021. That’s a year-over-year increase of 11%. More importantly, it’s significantly higher than financial analysts predicted.

Think you can’t afford a soundbar and subwoofer with surround sound? Sony disagrees. — www.cultofmac.com

The HT-S400 2.1ch Soundbar, set for launch in April, will retail for $300. At that price, Sony’s new soundbar looks like a solid budget-friendly option for stellar TV audio.

Sonnet’s new adapters run two 4K displays from one port on your M1 Mac — www.cultofmac.com

If you want to run more than one display with your M1 MacBook Air or M1 MacBook Pro, Sonnet Technologies just made things easier.

How to get Apple’s new Unity wallpapers for iPhone, iPad and Mac — www.cultofmac.com

Apple this week dropped a bunch of gorgeous new Unity wallpapers for iPhone, iPad and Mac — plus a new band and face for Apple Watch — as part of its Black History Month celebrations. Here’s how to download them and enable them on your devices.

Tweets o' the day

One more thing ...

"The best way to think of the Web is as a direct-to-customer distribution channel, whether it's for information or commerce. It bypasses all middlemen. And, it turns out, there are a lot of middlepersons in this society. And they generally tend to slow things down, muck things up, and make things more expensive. The elimination of them is going to be profound." -- Steve Jobs