ã€World Wide Web Reporter Zhang Zhiying】 According to local Israeli media reports, Apple has acquired RealFace, a facial recognition startup company. The acquisition amount is expected to reach several million US dollars. This is Apple's fourth acquisition in Israel. Coincidentally, there has been continuous news recently that Apple will use facial recognition technology in the iPhone 8 released later this year. Last week, the news said that Apple plans to abandon the Touch ID and Home keys on the new iPhone and replace it with a new "function area." In the past, Apple reported that Apple wanted to replace Touch ID with other biotechnology. Apple’s acquisition of the company undoubtedly corroborates the rumor that they will use facial recognition technology. Founded in 2014, RealFace is committed to developing facial recognition software as an alternative to traditional password and fingerprint recognition methods for mobile devices and PC devices. Although RealFace was established in 2014 and is a relatively young company, it was worth two million dollars in just two years. Its co-founders are: Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader. The company enhances facial recognition through technology for cyber security and machine deep learning. RealFace software is said to have its own patented technology in the field of frictionless facial recognition, allowing quick learning based on facial features. This may be the main reason for Apple's acquisition. In addition, RealFace has an iPhone application called Pickeez that uses facial recognition technology to automatically filter the best photos of users on all design platforms. According to analysis, Apple's acquisition of RealFace is at least several million US dollars, but the exact number is still unclear. RealFace had raised $1 million before being acquired and employed 10 employees. Like other companies that have been acquired by Apple, RealFace's official website is currently offline, but many of the company’s promotional materials are still available for search. The company claims that their facial recognition software is integrated with artificial intelligence to bring as accurate a frictionless facial recognition experience as possible. Currently neither Apple nor RealFace comment on this acquisition's acquisition information. Apple has already acquired a number of facial recognition companies. In 2011, Apple acquired Anobit, an Israeli flash memory company, for approximately US$400-500 million. In 2013, it acquired PrimeSense, a 3D sensor company, for US$345 million. In 2015, it purchased camera technology development company LinX for US$20 million.