Thinking way ahead of the curve, as Apple often does, they filed for a patent that would place a biometric sensor underneath a MacBook's trackpad as far back as 2009. They were granted a patent for such an idea just last year. Then the rumor surfaced that Touch ID would finally make it to this year's MacBook Pro refresh. It now appears that biometric sensors under a trackpad will be an industry trend.

According to Engadget, Both LG Innotek and Synaptics will likely have their products for PC notebooks soon and that it will work with Microsoft's Windows Hello biometric feature. Synaptics will be launching a gaming mouse this year with a fingerprint sensor as well.

According to Vice President of Marketing Godfrey Cheng, Synaptics has been bolstering its fingerprint anti-spoofing technology to stay ahead of the curve.

So will this be the year that Touch ID / biometrics come to notebooks? While only time will tell, Apple's CEO Tim Cook made an introductory speech at an Apple Event earlier this year about their fight with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone once owned by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Cook noted that "we believe strongly that we have a responsibility to help you protect your data and protect your privacy. We owe it to our customers and we owe it to our country. This is an issue that impacts all of us and we will not shrink from this responsibility."

If Apple is consistent, then protecting our data most certainly should extend through to our notebooks and as soon as possible. If need be, Apple could shoot for an alternative methodology that they revealed in a patent filing in March. 

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