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Do we need face ID on AW ?
- Thread starter Bacasable
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Nope, wrist detection is fine in combination with a PIN
No. It would be a terrible addition. Everything is already unlocked after putting it on your wrist by using your phone once and stays that way until you remove it. Using Face ID to unlock every time you use it would just introduce horrible lag to everything.
Terrible idea. Apart from the screen real estate you’d lose, what would be the point. The watch goes on your wrist. You put in the pin. Your set for the day. If it comes off your wrist you put the pin in again.
Not sure how you feel they could improve something that you have never owned.
In the near futur I’d love to see TouchID in the power button of the Apple Watch, as Apple did with the iPad Air last year. On the long run maybe wrist/skin detection or under screen TouchID would be the best. I doubt FaceID is suited for wearables, even if the technology allows it one day.
And what would be the purpose of that?
Another bad idea to be frank… for the reasons mentioned above why you do t need faceid…
Security. Currently, with Apple Watch, you can use Apple Pay, unlock an iPad and unlock an iPhone. Soon, you can store your IDs and home/car keys in it. All that only need a four digits code to do so, and these devices contains sensitive informations. Apple Watch don‘t have any biometric authentification system, and while I think that FaceID is not suited for AW, I can certainly see the purpose of adding TouchID or skin recognition in the watch when technology will allow it
And the watch is the only device that is actually strapped to your body… and you’re not limited to a 4 digit passcode, mine is actually 10…
Adding touch or Face ID will make it more complicated to use the watch, if it really gets to that point, I’m out…
Well more choices is always good. We had FaceID and TouchID for a long time on iOS devices, and nobody is forced to use them (and I‘m not hearing anybody wanting to go back to a code-only device). Biometric authentification is far more secure, and I don’t see why we should be opposed to this regarding the Apple Watch, especially when it can bypass other biometric systems on your iPhone or Mac. If there’s not a big compromise, like battery life, I can only hope that the option will be added in the future, and people who finds this too complicated or cumbersome could disable it.
Massive difference between the watch and the iPhone though. With a watch you put the code in when you put it on. With an iPhone you unlock it (face/touch/code) every time you use it. Adding any of those to the watch would make it less usable not more so.
Biometrics are a convenience for avoiding entering the passcode each time. Passcode is ultimately more secure than biometrics, so long as the code is long enough.
I can see the Watch's default passcode move from 4 digits to 6 digits to reach parity with iPhone/iPad, with the 4-digit code becoming an option (as it is with iPhone/iPad).
Once strapped to the wrist and unlocked with passcode the Watch will lock again if the Watch loses contact with the wrist. Altogether, other than the "what if kidnappers/robbers cut my arm off" scenario, this is enough to ensure the device will be locked if it comes into someone else's possession. And to combat the amputation scenario (and similar), if the Watch were programmed to lock if a pulse isn't detected...
To be fair, if someone cuts of my arm, losing the watch is the least of my concerns!
To be fair, if someone cuts of my arm, losing the watch is the least of my concerns!
I'm sorry, but if you value your limbs more than your Apple products, you aren't a true fanboy. That right there is the true test ?
I disagree. Apple has patents for skin recognition authentification. While that doesn’t mean that Apple will ever implement it on the Watch, we can imagine a future where the Apple Watch recognize the skin of the owner when unlocking the iPhone or using Apple Pay. This would be a passive biometric authentification, as you’d probably not notice it. It’s all about finding the biometric authentification system that works the best for the purpose of the device. And as I said, I’d love to have the feature, but if people prefer to use 4-6 digits code, I have nothing against giving them the option.
Also, to use Apple Pay on the Watch, we have to double click on the power button. It would not be that much a burden if there was touchID in the button, as we have to click this button anyway. I don’t think that it would make the Watch less usable.
and I assume you know this already, but you are not limited to 4 digits on AW, mine is actually 10 ...
except, TouchID is far from reliable, for me, on the iPhone, I had a success rate of <60%, on my M1 MBA, I have to lick my finger for it to work, and I am certainly not going to do that when I'm checking out at a grocery tore ...
and, repeating myself, you are not limited to 4 or 6 digit passcodes on the AW today ...
So, adding another sensor for biometric authentication will add cost to the BOM, require SW and battery life while providing little benefit, but we obviously disagree on that ...
I stated earlier that I would want this feature only if it’s not compromising dramatically the usability or the battery life. It’s not something that I see happening in the next 5 years.
I’m still happy with my Apple Watch as it is today, but in the features that I would at least hope for the long run, a passive biometric authentification is on the list. As I can see we disagree on that, but to each their own, my wish may never become true.
Just curious - not sure if you know the answer. A 10-digit numeric code is really weak (according to this site, a random 10-digit numeric password can be hacked in 3 seconds). Is it possible to brute-force an AW? If so, then I guess everyone better have the "Erase Data" option enabled (under Watch > Passcode) even if they have a 10-digit passcode. That option will erase all data on the AW after 10 unsuccessful attempts at the passcode.
Well, it takes me 3 seconds to type in my code on the AW screen…
What data is actually on the AW? Virtual credit card numbers, my activity numbers of the day and photos or music that I might have synced, I don’t think that 3rd party apps store user info on AW, I think that’s done thru the phone but I could be wrong…
what does brutforce mean? You’ll need a robot to enter Passcodes on AW…
I'm assuming it means 3 seconds for a decently-powered password hacking software to find the correct passcode. I'm assuming you must value something on your AW if you chose a 10-digit passcode over a 4-digit one. Brute force means trying every possible combination within a set of parameters (in your case, a set of 10 numbers, each being 0-9). That would be done by software, of course, which can test hundreds or thousands of passwords per second.
I'd take that website with a grain of salt, other websites show different results for a 10 digit numeric passcode. The FBI paid a million dollars for a company to crack a 6 digit numeric passcode on an iPhone 5C and it took a lot longer than 3 seconds.. You have to defeat the 10 attempt passcode or erase all contents first to use brute force. Apple is constantly patching vulnerable ways to attack the phone so I guess if the government wants into your phone it's different than some random guy that stole your device... 10 digit numeric passcode is way more secure than what 98% of iPhone owners use.
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you have to physically enter the passcode or is there some interface to tap into that I am not aware of?
I do know what brutfoce means/is, that's why I said you'll need a robot ...
And no, nothing valuable on my AW, but several years ago I had used my iPhone for work and MDM (?) required a 10-digit passcode, and while long removed, I kept the 10 digit code for the phone, and if I recall correctly (been a few years) when you setup the AW it mimics the iPhone settings for passcode ... 98% of the time I use iPhone/FaceID to unlock my watch, so for the few occasions where I enter it manually, it doesn't bother me ...