The rumored iPhone 13 could be accessible to multiple users, as Apple is working on Secure Enclave technology to allow a single iPhone or iPad to be used securely by different people

This is what we can read from a new Apple patent that details how to create a system-on-chip (SoC) that can securely handle multiple users' data using a "peripheral processor or processing system" separate from the main iPhone or iPad chip

Since the iPhone 5S, Apple has been using custom T1 or T2 security chips to build secure enclaves in Macs, iPads, iPhones, and even the Apple Watch The Secure Enclave provides hardware-level encryption for user data to prevent it from leaving the device and to isolate it from the main SoC This essentially adds an additional layer of security to the Apple device

Such techniques have been used before in other computing devices, often referred to as "sandboxing" However, Apple explains that it is not suitable for securing devices with multiple users

"In a multi-user device, where both users use the same application, standard sandboxing alone cannot prevent one user from accessing another user's data," the patent states Thus, there is a need for technology that enables optimal flexibility in data isolation for multi-user devices"

Apple's new patent details how to address this by using a system that "may include a Secure Enclave Processor (SEP)" that acts as "the primary arbiter of all data access on the system"

As we understand it, the SEP effectively acts as a gatekeeper to various users' data on a single device, preventing one user from accessing another user's information The different user data is stored in a "container" in the device's secure memory, and the system can only access that data if the appropriate user logs in and passes authentication

This all sounds rather complicated, but in reality everything is authenticated with a passcode or Touch ID SEP also monitors for unwanted users who try to trick or brute-force their way into Apple devices whether SEP will be a separate and distinct chip, or whether a future version It is not clear whether SEP will be a separate and distinct chip or integrated into a future version of the T2 chip

Unlike some outlandish patents from Apple, this looks more realistic and something we could see take effect reasonably soon

We would not be surprised to see SEP added to the iPhone 13 alongside other upgrades such as 120Hz displays and new cameras The next-generation iPad is also a likely candidate for SEPs, as it is easy to imagine various people sharing an iPad in a single household