[DECIDING FACTOR POLL] Is TouchID going to be coming back in a successor to the iPhone X?

[Phil A.]

I'll go further than saying Apple won't bring back TouchID - I predict that within 4 years no phones will use fingerprint sensors: they will all have moved to facial recognition and no-one will give a thought to FPS apart from as a memory of how things used to be.

Whether or not you think Apple are lagging behind the competition (and they are in certain areas), every manufacturer will want to copy what Apple have done here.

There are already devices out there with 3D facial recognition (Surface line from Microsoft) and various camera based bio-metrics (facial or iris scanners) but as with FPS before Touch ID, it's never really gathered any traction.

Apple doing Face ID will bring it into the mainstream consciousness and add a coolness factor that wasn't there before and it will definitely become the next step in authentication

There's a lot I dislike about the X (not least of which is that horrendous notch), but Face ID isn't one of those things and I think people will love it when they use it

 

[Rogifan]

You do realize that they had no plans to remove it, right? Manufacturing troubles forced them to. It's definitely coming back.

I agree that they didn't plan to remove it, but I think once they came up with FaceID as an alternative, they won't go back especially after casting it as superior and more secure tech to TouchID. If they went back to TouchID, it would be an acknowledgement that FaceID isn't working.

Apple never wants egg on its face.

Apple will never put itself in a position of having to save face.

Okay, those were weak puns.

That’s not what Craig Federighi said. According to him Touch ID under the display was a plan B in case they couldn’t get Face ID to work. Once they knew Face ID would work they stopped working on Touch ID.

This is why I think we'll probably see it return next year. It's obvious Apple wanted to keep it. They just need more time to get it to work.

Where is it obvious they wanted to keep it? And as I said above Craig Federighi told John Gruber Touch ID in the X was plan B not plan A.

 

[Damstr]

I don't see them bringing back TouchID as it is overall less secure.

 

[Patriks7]

I can't see them bringing it back, especially after their comparison of how much safer Face ID is. What would they say, "we realize that Touch ID is a lot less secure than Face ID, but we decided to spend millions in R&D to bring it back, just for the hell of it"?

 

[Faelan]

If they reintroduce touch ID later down the road, then they're basically admitting that face ID isn't the future of smartphones. They'll iterate and improve until we reach the point where we look back at touch ID and say to ourselves "sure, touch ID was better in these specific fringe cases, but face ID is just so much better overall".

In short, it's the future but the road to that point might be bumpy just like first gen touch ID had some issues. Heck, it still does, but it's a lot better now.

 

[webbuzz]

Touch ID will not come back.

 

[cableguy84]

No, the notch is here to stay

 

[wxnats]

No, Touch ID is a thing of the past. I think facial recognition is where phones are going.

 

[sniffies]

That’s not what Craig Federighi said. According to him Touch ID under the display was a plan B in case they couldn’t get Face ID to work. Once they knew Face ID would work they stopped working on Touch ID.


Where is it obvious they wanted to keep it? And as I said above Craig Federighi told John Gruber Touch ID in the X was plan B not plan A.

Don't be so naive. You really think he would tell anybody the truth about Touch ID troubles? Face ID was the backup. The truth came straight from the factories via leaks. It ain't not gonna come from Apple. That would be marketing suicide.

 

[Nozuka]

Don't be so naive. You really think he would tell anybody the truth about Touch ID troubles? Face ID was the backup. The truth came straight from the factories via leaks. It ain't not gonna come from Apple. That would be marketing suicide.

rumors are rumors. and they made no sense at all. they were far too late.
"apple is still trying to get it to work, till the last second!" yeah right...

even the A11 chip was specifically optimized for faceID.

touchID under the display is too limited in what it brings to the table. the TrueDepth camera is much more flexible and can be used for other things than just authentication.

 

[DNichter]

Nope, Face ID will be the future. People were up in arms about the same things when Touch ID was released. Face ID will be so simple and easy to use that there won't be a reason to go back to Touch ID. The worrying about it is way overblown.

 

[tworth23]

If Apple is really going to abandon TouchID in all forms going forward, then the 8 Plus will be the last new iPhone I buy.

Good to hear. Less competition during pre-order

 

[Supermallet]

Good to hear. Less competition during pre-order

Goes both ways. All the people waiting on the X made it a breeze to preorder the 8 Plus.

 

[Starfyre]

All the good press better be pushing Apple to not include TouchID in the future, I am leaning towards X right now thanks to the poll results so far.

 

[44267547]

Goes both ways. All the people waiting on the X made it a breeze to preorder the 8 Plus.

I agree. If the iPhone X would not have existed this year, and it was only the iPhone 8 that was offered in the 4.7 and 5.5, I feel the iPhone 8 would have had stronger pre-orders. But Given the iPhone 8 will be sought after this year, that helped direct away some of the flow from the iPhone 8. Over the course of time, the iPhone 8 will still do really well. Mainly Because of affordability.

 

[Nozuka]

All the good press better be pushing Apple to not include FaceID in the future, I am leaning towards plus right now thanks to this poll.

then just go and buy it, it's already out

 

[TravisPNW]

If Apple is really going to abandon TouchID in all forms going forward, then the 8 Plus will be the last new iPhone I buy.

Couldn’t agree more.
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Who knows, I think Apple invested in a lot of money in the facial recognition, both from buying the company that does this and their own work. I find it hard to believe they'd not fully embrace this

I thought they did the same with Touch ID.

 

[Hater]

It won't come back.

We'll all complain about it now but in two years time we won't even remember what we were complaining about.

 

[TravisPNW]

From a security perspective, Face ID is supposed to be more secure. Why would Apple go back to something less secure and less convenient?

Maybe it’s just me but I wasn’t buying that Kool-aid Apple was selling at the keynote.

You had a 1 in 50k chance of your phone getting unlocked by a random fingerprint with Touch ID. It’s now 1 in 1M with Face ID.

Ok? Am I really supposed to give a rats about these numbers? If someone wants your phone bad enough... they’ll get it.

 

[rasputin1969]

I don't see them bringing back TouchID as it is overall less secure.

I’m not too sure about that. Apple state that you shouldn’t use Face ID if you’ve got an identical twin, or a family member with a close resemblance. One in 300 is an identical twin. I’m sure Apple’s figures are correct, but they seem to predicate their figures on random samples. It would be interesting to see the same comparison between touch ID (one in 50,000) and a typical individuals friend/family group.

 

[The Game 161]

My question is this

For those who love Touch ID if apple don’t bring it back again should samsung get thr fingerprint scanner under the display will that get you to move platforms?

 

[callihan_44]

I hope samsung gets the touch ID under the screen in the S9 and others follow suit, facial recog sux right now... your hands are already on the phone so why not use your fingerprint

 

[AsherN]

Whats going to happen with all Apps that use Touch ID? Sounds like they are splitting their ecosystem up...

Apps dont "use" TouchID. apps make a call to the authentication API, which then returns yes/no. The actual authentication method is handled by the OS.

 

[Cryates]

Apple is not bringing Touch ID back in the future. Face ID quite literally is the future. A hint would be them admitting that Touch ID is less secure than Face ID in the keynote.

 

[phillytim]

I think Apple will move on with FaceID, and not return to TouchID.

Though I *really* am tempted to upgrade to the 8 Plus to keep TouchID, when I was going to wait with my 6s Plus until next year for the XS. I just may upgrade later this year to that 8 Plus, if a great $deal comes out for one.

And then there's the battery factor - will FaceID cause a significant battery drain, since it has to fire up cameras? I'd think that TouchID keeps the drain to a minimum.