Apple is trying to do the same thing with the iMac and MacBook login method as it does with the best iPhones. But that may mean having to put up with a small chunk cut out of the Retina display.

This is based on a newly discovered patent by Patently Apple, which shows Apple's familiar desktop and laptop computers with notches that iPhone 11 users and other recent iPhone owners will recognize well.

The two different form factors have different setups: the iMac has an enlarged Face ID notch at the top of the display, as expected. However, perhaps for space-saving reasons, the MacBook design incorporates most of the system into the top of the lid, while the infrared dot projector is integrated into the Touch Bar.

The patent text itself acknowledges the need for strong security when it comes to personal electronic devices. However, it also suggests implementing additional features with this technology, such as Memojis in iOS, support for multiple user faces, and use of the camera for video calls.

We have long anticipated a refresh of the iMac, as have many of the render artists who have created informal designs. A recent rendering of the iMac that we covered had a Face ID camera added to it, which anticipated this patent.

Patents do not always become actual products, and even if they do, it can take years to go from illustration to actual device. Since it doesn't seem like such an outlandish idea for Apple to add to future iMacs and MacBooks, perhaps next year's ARM-powered MacBook will be a departure for Apple in many ways.