A code leak indicates that a future Apple Watch could have Touch ID unlocking capabilities instead of users relying on a PIN.
Apple has been using biometric security across its main lines for quite some time, but it has so far declined to do so for the Apple Watch. If a report about code snippets is correct, that could eventually change.
According to internal code seen by Macworld, Apple has been working on adding biometric security to the Apple Watch. In some places, there are mentions of "AppleMesa," which happens to be Apple's internal codename for Touch ID itself.
The code is specifically internal-only, so it isn't anything that has left Apple's offices at all. The internal nature of the references, as well as the lack of Touch ID references in watchOS used with current-gen Apple Watch models, points to this being at the prototyping and experimental phase.
There are other questions raised with the discovery, such as how Apple could include Touch ID in such a small device. Patents exist that discuss the addition of Touch ID to the side button of the Apple Watch, similar to the implementation on the iPad Air.
Not immediate
The change to include Touch ID in an Apple Watch certainly isn't going to happen soon. But, the existence of other reports about possible big changes to the wearable may mean the timeline could be sooner rather than later.
On August 26, a report claimed that the 2026 editions of the Apple Watch get some "exterior design" changes. Adding Touch ID in some capacity would certainly count as an exterior change to the design.
The same report added that there would be double the number of sensors and improved power efficiency. Also, the changes would be applied to "high-end Apple Watch" models, meaning possibly both the mainline Apple Watch release for the year as well as an Apple Watch Ultra update.
