Could an Apple TV touch screen remote be on its way?

The biometric system depicted is very similar to the current Touch ID fingerprint scanning system on the company’s newest mobile devices.

The process would allow individual users who are sharing a device such as the Apple TV, to customize the device to their precise settings using their fingerprint to change between profiles.

All of these things sounds like great ideas, but unfortunately due to the fact that it is a patent, there’s really no telling if and when Apple will ever make it a reality, but given that Apple has interest in home automation with HomeKit and with a rumored Apple TV refresh on the way, perhaps it might not be such a ludicrous idea after all. But the patents seem to indicate that Touch ID and other biometrics will play a major role in Apple’s vision of the future.

It’s not clear at this point when or even if an Apple TV remote with an embedded Touch ID sensor will be released. Since Touch ID might be configured for different user profiles, it can then be used to present catered content, such as music, videos, games, ads, shows, movies and more to a specific user.

Previous stories about the Apple TV remote – which Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson would be part of the “simplest user interface you could imagine” – call for a motion-sensitive magic wand-style device that could be used for zooming in and out, accessing a keyboard, carrying out photo editing, and possibly gaming.

Three new Apple patent applications reveal that Apple is looking into ways to use your fingerprints at home to customize content preferences, control various connected gadgets, and secure access to personal data. The application was first filed on January 23, 2014 and credits Apple engineers Michael Divincent, Nicole Hollopeter and Ruben Caballero for the invention.