Face ID in iPhone X vs. 'Face Unlock' Facial Recognition in OnePlus 5T

[Alon1]

Face ID blows Touch ID out of the water.
Pros:
1. Gone are the days when slightly moist or wet hands wouldn’t allow you to unlock your phone. I live in Miami but I imagine that people who live in colder places will benefit from not having to remove their gloves.
2. Another example for its convenience over Touch ID is when I have a song playing on Spotify on the lock screen - all I have to do to go into the app is tap on the Spotify window, because the iPhone has already recognized my face. With Touch ID I would’ve had to authenticate with my finger print which now feels like a chore on my iPad and MacBook.
3. Banking apps have also benefited greatly from not having to put your finger on the home button. Just launch the app and it fluidly logs you in.
4. Face ID has changed how I use the phone. Now, in many cases, I don’t even swipe up for the home screen to unlock it. I swipe right to the widget screen where I have the information and apps that I need 90% of the time displayed and unlocked. From this screen I can call one of my favorite contacts, start a drive with waze, launch one of the top 8 apps I use which usually contains what I’m looking for, type what I need into the search bar (including apps), etc. No need to actively authenticate, it’s as if your phone was never locked.

Cons/spoiled brat’s complaints/things that should to be improved:
1. I would love for the Face ID to be a bit faster. This is usually not that noticeable during unlocks because by the time you swipe, it authenticates. But it does take what feels like a couple seconds too long when used with banking apps and Apple Pay. Also noticeable when you look at your home screen and wait for a message/notification to change into a preview (which is another Face ID feature that I love). A snappier unlock, which I have no doubt will happen, will make Face ID even less noticeable, which for me is the main goal.
2. Wider field of view so that you can unlock the phone even when it’s laying flat on a table. Right now it’s a hit or miss which can be more annoying than if it were to flat out not be an option. I don’t run into this issue often, partially because I’ve already gotten used to picking up the phone to my face. But there are situation when it would be nice.
3. Sometimes when I wake up and still in bed it’s having a hard time recognizing me. Not sure what Apple can do about that because admittedly, I do look like a potato when I’ve just woken up. But maybe if Apple added a second sensor or iris scanner in future generations, Face ID would be able to compile all this info into a successful profile and unlock.
4. Face ID doesn’t work when you hold your phone sideways in portrait, for example when you watch a movie and the screen has locked. Why? How is this going to work when implemented into an iPad?

Overall verdict:
Face ID is the future. It’s a lot more polished and reliable than Touch ID was when it just hit the market with the iPhone 5s, and has a much higher ceiling. When you compare it to Face ID or the other solutions out there, Face ID is the definition of “it just works”

 

[MH01]

Face ID blows Touch ID out of the water.
Pros:
1. Gone are the days when slightly moist or wet hands wouldn’t allow you to unlock your phone. I live in Miami but I imagine that people who live in colder places will benefit from not having to remove their gloves.
2. Another example for its convenience over Touch ID is when I have a song playing on Spotify on the lock screen - all I have to do to go into the app is tap on the Spotify window, because the iPhone has already recognized my face. With Touch ID I would’ve had to authenticate with my finger print which now feels like a chore on my iPad and MacBook.
3. Banking apps have also benefited greatly from not having to put your finger on the home button. Just launch the app and it fluidly logs you in.
4. Face ID has changed how I use the phone. Now, in many cases, I don’t even swipe up for the home screen to unlock it. I swipe right to the widget screen where I have the information and apps that I need 90% of the time displayed and unlocked. From this screen I can call one of my favorite contacts, start a drive with waze, launch one of the top 8 apps I use which usually contains what I’m looking for, type what I need into the search bar (including apps), etc. No need to actively authenticate, it’s as if your phone was never locked.

Cons/spoiled brat’s complains/things that should to be improved:
1. I would love for the Face ID to be a bit faster. This is usually not that noticeable during unlocks because by the time you swipe, it authenticates. But it does take what feels like a couple seconds too long when used with banking apps and Apple Pay. A snappier unlock which I have no doubt will happen, will make Face ID even less noticeable, which for me is the main goal.
2. Wider field of view so that you can unlock the phone even when it’s laying flat on a table. Right now it’s a hit or miss which can be more annoying than if it were to flat out not be an option. I don’t run into this issue often, partially because I’ve already gotten used to picking up the phone to my face. But there are situation when it would be nice.
3. Sometimes when I wake up and still in bed it’s having a hard time recognizing me. Not sure what Apple can do about that because admittedly, I do look like a potato when I’ve just woken up. But maybe if Apple added a second sensor or iris scanner in future generations, Touch ID would be able to compile all this info into a successful profile and unlock.

Over verdict:
Face ID is the future. It’s a lot more polished and reliable than Touch ID was when it just hit the market with the iPhone 5s, and has a much higher ceiling. When you compare it to Touch ID or the other solutions out there, Touch ID is the definition of “it just works”

4 pros v 3 cons . That is not blowing something out of the water.

The one major factor you missed is user experience. Touchid is still very much the best experience for many, especially for users with multiple apple devices . Maybe once faceid replaces touchid in all devices , the experience will be better .

My biggest con is around this , apple had to offer , did offer free training sessions on how to use the new iPhone - that is not "it just works" hence Apple no longer users "it's just works" , it did once when the focus was user experience.

 

[Wowereit]

Note8's iris scanner is also faster than Face ID.

Hahaha.
You can't be serious. That thing is complete garbage.
By the time you've managed to hold your eyes into the rings, every other method has unlocked your device 3 times.

 

[Alon1]

4 pros v 3 cons . That is not blowing something out of the water.

The one major factor you missed is user experience. Touchid is still very much the best experience for many, especially for users with multiple apple devices . Maybe once faceid replaces touchid in all devices , the experience will be better .

My biggest con is around this , apple had to offer , did offer free training sessions on how to use the new iPhone - that is not "it just works" hence Apple no longer users "it's just works" , it did once when the focus was user experience.

I edited and added another con that I just thought about . But it would be wrong to weigh the pro and the cons with equal importance, as if each item equals a point. The cons to me are neuances while the pros make for an amazing experience. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I still have Touch ID on my MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro and having to use it now definitely feels outdated. I would love to just flip my MacBook open and have it unlock by recognizing me.

As for the setup, setting up Face ID was like 100 times easier than setting up Touch ID. I hated having to lift and touch my finger to the sensor repeatedly in different angles. I also got my 58 year old father to set up Face ID on his new iPhone, while he refused to use Touch ID on his previous phones because it wasn’t reliable for him, which I think proves my point when it comes to ease of use. I think those instructional videos and classes pertain to the removal of the home button more than the switch to Face ID.

 

[Baymowe335]

Note8's iris scanner is also faster than Face ID.

So is a simple swipe to unlock, but we aren’t talking about methods with zero security.

 

[6803390]

Touch ID had its downfalls when It first launched, but has matured, became more refined with speed and accuracy when unlocking the iPhone. Face ID truly is unique, and I'm excited to see how this ultimately develops over the course of time. But for being the first generation of Face ID in the iPhone X, it really is impressive in terms of its capabilities. But no technology is perfect, no matter how many years it's been revamped.

Do you have links? Like I said previously, I don’t recall. I know Touch ID has matured and the speed is incredible.

Well, if Apple did not include Face ID, and placed Touch ID on the side or the back, they could have used that space for battery or something useful. Face ID is more useful for macs and iPad pros i.e. on bigger devices.

 

[Precision Gem]

I picked up my wife's iPhone 6s and was almost at a loss at first on using the home button. I have gotten so used to swiping up, and the face ID the old home button, well felt old.
Much much much prefer face ID over touch ID and find it for me, much faster.

 

[WhatdoIkn0w4now]

With TouchID my iPhone is unlocked by the time I raise to my eye level. With FaceID the unlocking process doesn't even start until I have it raised to see my face. Consider having an iPhone on your dock while sleeping,or some other "off to the side" use case; with TouchID you could lean over extend a hand and unlock the device with TouchID, now under that scenario with FaceID and entering a passcode would seem the best ( or a go go gadget neck) option.

I want FaceID to succeed, but I think at this point it's best that both FaceID and TouchID are added together as they compliment each other.

Lets hope they figure out how to put TouchID under the glass and we have both options moving forward. I think an iPhone with both TouchID and FaceID would be the best solution for all use cases.

Don't want to touch the screen, use FaceID, Can't see your face..use TouchID.

 

[CTHarrryH]

I'm the 3+ weeks I had my X I think Face-id hasn't worked 1 or 2 times. In 3 weeks of touch-id it would have failed 15 or more times. So even for those who think slower not slower since I only have to do once vs several times with touch.
Plus,particularly up here in the north, chapped fingers cause problems every winter as well as having to take gloves off.
I'll take Face-Id over Touch. I'm sure, like all things, it will get better.

 

[MH01]

I edited and added another con that I just thought about . But it would be wrong to weigh the pro and the cons with equal importance, as if each item equals a point. The cons to me are neuances while the pros make for an amazing experience. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I still have Touch ID on my MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro and having to use it now definitely feels outdated. I would love to just flip my MacBook open and have it unlock by recognizing me.

As for the setup, setting up Face ID was like 100 times easier than setting up Touch ID. I hated having to lift and touch my finger to the sensor repeatedly in different angles. I also got my 58 year old father to set up Face ID on his new iPhone, while he refused to use Touch ID on his previous phones because it wasn’t reliable for him, which I think proves my point when it comes to ease of use. I think those instructional videos and classes pertain to the removal of the home button more than the switch to Face ID.

I agree the pros / cons are not equal weighting . First year faceid is very good. The issue is, touchid is for many works perfectly, and is such a natural interaction with the phone. That is, the home button I think is the best design , even forgetting about touchid ,homebutton navigation in my opinion is a better and intuitive experience. Sure you can be trained to have no home button.....

 

[Chupa Chupa]

How are people not bored talking about Face ID? To me it's down there with conversations about the color of the clouds in the sky. Please make it stop.

 

[0947347]

NEWS ALERT.

Millions of people will do this every single day.

You are relaxing in bed, not quite asleep, and reach to check your phone, perhaps look on facebook as people do.
Of you wake up, sleepy and reach for your phone.

Stretch out your arm, pick your phone up, , bring it down to the side of your pillow and check things.

People do this EVERY day, or night. With Touch ID "It Just Worked" Face ID is worse in this scenario, and that's a simple fact.
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I mentioned this as it's a real world scenario millions will do every single day.
Every human sleeps, and a fair amount will have a phone beside the bed and will reach either sometimes, or very often to check their phone whilst they are still in bed.
You should never be scared to admit something is worse than an alternative.

Both systems have their benefits, but let's not pretend the new one does not have problems.
In some scenarios Touch ID is simply better

Yes, of course there are benefits on both sides, there is no discussion about that.
Did you try touchID with a half of your finger then? How about half of your pin? I wonder why people expect a faceid to work with half of your face

I understand people must check their phone while sleeping, cannot move their head even an inch but will reach for a phone and unlock it and type and swipe and press, but moving their head a little, impossibly inconvenient.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I hear you. Losing a 10th of a second 10 times a day really must put a strain on how much time you lose throughout the day double clicking the side button. Oh the humanity

 

[Mansu944]

So you are laying in bed, face half snuggled down into the pillow, you reach across to the table next to your bed, holding the phone and it unlocks perfectly?

So you get out of the shower with wet hands and Touch ID works perfectly?

Tilt the phone so it’s the same angle as your face.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

It’s ridiculous that these are even compared.

Face unlock is just that ‘face unlock’. An image comparison to unlock your phone.

While ‘security’ might not matter to most people. It is the Security of Face ID that allows for the additional features such as payment authorization of apps, online and In store. It also allows for being able to use Face ID for accessing your passwords and apps that are passcode protected.

Face unlock on android can ONLY unlock your phone. And there is a reason for that, because it is not secure enough.
[doublepost=1512804118][/doublepost]

Would you trust a using ‘Face unlock’ to secure your banking apps? Knowing it can be bypassed by a picture?

Would you blindly drive using nothing but google maps turn by turn navigation to get you somewhere? Ridiculous analogy.

 

[Alon1]

I agree the pros / cons are not equal weighting . First year faceid is very good. The issue is, touchid is for many works perfectly, and is such a natural interaction with the phone. That is, the home button I think is the best design , even forgetting about touchid ,homebutton navigation in my opinion is a better and intuitive experience. Sure you can be trained to have no home button.....

Totally agree but that's another conversation to be had. I will miss many aspects of the home button but bottom line is that it took too much valuable screen real estate and this change had to happen at some point. The discussion on the removal of the home button reminds me of the discussion on the lack of a mechanical keyboard when the first iPhone came out 10 years ago. Sure it was nice to have a full mechanical keyboard, but how many users would go back to having half their device taken up by a physical keyboard? For me it's a good enough tradeoff to have the screen take up the whole device. Especially when thinking about the future implementations of a device that's all screen and can be customized in any way you want UI wise.

 

[Derekeys]

I still very much want the OPTION to skip the notification screen.

Wake > Look > Home Screen

No swiping.

 

[Guidonculous]

So you get out of the shower with wet hands and Touch ID works perfectly?

Tilt the phone so it’s the same angle as your face.

Yeah, this is actually an area where the machine learning effect seems apparent. I’ve noticed my phone is getting pretty effective at unlocking even when my face is obscured from lying on a pillow and my hand resting across my mouth like I do frequently for whatever reason. It’s effectively unlocking from like 60% of my face.

Day one was a very different experience.

 

[fourthtunz]

I've had mine since release day. I agree, the tech is fantastic and we have nearly touched the surface of what we are going to see with Face ID, security is great, but realistically I don't need super security on my phone. I don't have super secret stuff and have not YET lost my phone, I only require tempted snooping from have a quick look.
I also don't like the fact that it won't recognise on an angle or flat on a table. They are situations I use to use with Touch ID.

People seem to forget you can just shut off the security
If you're going to bed why not shut if off before bed?
Anyway, it works well enough
[doublepost=1512834438][/doublepost]

Hahaha.
You can't be serious. That thing is complete garbage.
By the time you've managed to hold your eyes into the rings, every other method has unlocked your device 3 times.

And it has android which is crap. No thanks, I'll pay a little more for a better phone with a better OS and less snooping.

 

[carwashr]

I believe Face ID is the wave of the future. I don't understand why Face ID doesn't deliver me to the home screen when unlocked, like the home button did. Maybe someone can give me some thoughts on why Apple changed the unlocking.

 

[pl1984]

People with secure information used (or were forced) to use passwords. In fact, roughly 50% of people at that time DID use a passcode. And today, 8 years later, we are using our phones to access and store more secure data than ever before. Times change. It's ridiculous to compare something so flat.

You appear to be missing my point. That point is I find it ironic the method one uses to unlock their phone is being sold as one of the key features of modern smart phones.

While I appreciated the move from PIN codes to TouchID I never looked at it as a key selling point. An improvement? Yes. A key selling point? No. Same with FaceID. FaceID even more so than TouchID. The convenience, if any, FaceID offers over TouchID seems negligible. However with the amount of coverage FaceID has received one would think it was leaps and bounds better than TouchID.

 

[Precision Gem]

You appear to be missing my point. That point is I find it ironic the method one uses to unlock their phone is being sold as one of the key features of modern smart phones.

While I appreciated the move from PIN codes to TouchID I never looked at it as a key selling point. An improvement? Yes. A key selling point? No. Same with FaceID. FaceID even more so than TouchID. The convenience, if any, FaceID offers over TouchID seems negligible. However with the amount of coverage FaceID has received one would think it was leaps and bounds better than TouchID.

Its not just unlocking your phone. Every app that uses a password to unlock works with face ID. With tough ID you would need to change the way you held the phone to place a finger on there home button. Face ID just happens since you are already looking at your phone. This is where it's much faster.

 

[GoodWheaties]

How does he get those cool lights to flash inside the notch?

That’s probably the infrared illumination. You can’t see it but the camera can.

 

[MyMacintosh]

Security is an arms race. If you can get an order of magntitude greater security with little or no increase in inconvenience, why not?

Im not blaming the companies for the race to the bottom, I do blame them for trying to convince me its a feature that I need and thus increasing the prices of these phones.

It’s ridiculous that these are even compared.

Face unlock is just that ‘face unlock’. An image comparison to unlock your phone.

While ‘security’ might not matter to most people. It is the Security of Face ID that allows for the additional features such as payment authorization of apps, online and In store. It also allows for being able to use Face ID for accessing your passwords and apps that are passcode protected.

Face unlock on android can ONLY unlock your phone. And there is a reason for that, because it is not secure enough.
[doublepost=1512804118][/doublepost]

Would you trust a using ‘Face unlock’ to secure your banking apps? Knowing it can be bypassed by a picture?

1. It's alot more than just a picture if we're being honest. 2. The thief in question would have to someone obtain my picture, and my phone within a relatively short amount of time before I noticed.

People already drink and drive, so beer cans should come with straws.
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It was a very close call, but yes, we are now. Thanks.

Was there an actual point in this? What do straws have to do with this argument?

 

[IJ Reilly]

Was there an actual point in this? What do straws have to do with this argument?

We need to make it more convenient for people to do stupid things.

Sorry that wasn't made more obvious before. Now it should be entirely.