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I prefer TouchID simply because it works at a much higher percentage of the time than FaceID (and no I am not talking about when wearing a mask).
Maybe I’m doing something wrong then because it almost never fails for me. I have an iPhone 12 mini if that matters. Also, 99.99% of the time I want to unlock my phone because I’m about to use it, so to pick it up and point it at my face is exactly what I would do with Touch ID anyway.
 
I love FaceID and could never go back to TouchID. I don’t have issues with putting my passcode in when I’m out and about wearing a mask. My jailbroken iPhone on 14.1, can be unlocked with my Apple Watch using a tweak.
My non-jail broken iPhone can do the same. It is built into iOS now. It is very nice.
 
FaceID on the iPad Pro is so easy that you never notice it happening. you just go to your iPad and it is unlocked. It even allows unlock from different angles that the phone can't handle. I would hate to have to always reach out and swipe my finger on the power button. With the iPad Prod, the iPad just seems to always be unlocked when I want it with no action required.
Except when you are holding your iPad horizontal and covering the cameras with your left or right hand…
 
Except when you are holding your iPad horizontal and covering the cameras with your left or right hand…
If you know it’s there, you’ll be aware of it and avoid doing that. It’s really simple. If you go to take a selfie and your hand is covering the camera, you’ll also learn to not do that.
 
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Except when you are holding your iPad horizontal and covering the cameras with your left or right hand…
Yes, I've mostly gotten over that habit but I do block it now and then. I do think it might be best if they moved the camera to the corner so it can work for both landscape and portrait mode.
 
... Why would I lie about having Face ID?

It usually fails if there's a light source nearby that shines on only one side of my face. I guess it could be set up wrong but all I can do to set it up is follow the directions on the screen, which I did.
Light is irrelevant to Face ID. I suggest perhaps resetting it and starting again. Honestly- there has been some sort of glitch along the way. Light has no bearing on the way it works.
 
Except when you are holding your iPad horizontal and covering the cameras with your left or right hand…
What? FaceID doesn’t work if you’re covering the camera? Apple fail. Apple doomed. Android had this for ten years. I can’t believe the front camera can’t see though hands. Notch! Doesn’t work in the dark! Fooled by photo YouTube said! Oh…. Wait….
 
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I still use both, as my work supplied me with an iPhone 8. The only downsides I have noticed to Face ID is that it does not work with my favourite (polarised) sunglasses and that occasionally I cannot see the notifications when the phone is flat on my desk. However, I really should just get a MagSafe desk stand...
 
Light is irrelevant to Face ID. I suggest perhaps resetting it and starting again. Honestly- there has been some sort of glitch along the way. Light has no bearing on the way it works.
Actually Face ID works best in the dark, because of the infrared scanner.
 
What? FaceID doesn’t work if you’re covering the camera? Apple fail. Apple doomed. Android had this for ten years. I can’t believe the front camera can’t see though hands. Notch! Doesn’t work in the dark! Fooled by photo YouTube said! Oh…. Wait….
There is no notch on the iPad Pro. And yes, it is easy to forget that it is there since you can be holding the iPad horizontally from either direction with no visual indication of which side has the FaceID. Do you even have a clue as to how FaceID works? Yes FaceID doesn’t work if you are covering the camera. FaceID even tells me that I am covering the camera and then works as expected once I move my hand.
 
If you know it’s there, you’ll be aware of it and avoid doing that. It’s really simple. If you go to take a selfie and your hand is covering the camera, you’ll also learn to not do that.
Taking a selfie is irrelevant since you can see the image from your front camera full screen. Composing your shot is important before randomly mashing shutter buttons hoping for a beautiful outcome. There is no notch on the iPad Pro to give the visual indication of where the camera is. So, really the only thing you can feel for is the backside camera on the upper left so you know the Face ID camera is on the left. Apple designed the iPad to be used from any direction, and the screen will orient itself automatically. It isn’t a design flaw or a feature. It is just the nature of the iPad Pro.
 
After a year or so of wearing masks, what I've released that I like about FaceID, is the full screen experience - not FaceID itself, necessarily.

I think I'd be good with an iPad Air 2020 style TouchID experience on an iPhone tbh.
 
If you know it’s there, you’ll be aware of it and avoid doing that. It’s really simple. If you go to take a selfie and your hand is covering the camera, you’ll also learn to not do that.

Easier done on the iPhone since it's smaller and lighter. Besides, you're usually using it portrait so almost zero chances of blocking the FaceID sensors.

It's not really all that avoidable if you're holding the iPad in landscape. The bezels are too small and it's uncomfortable trying to avoid blocking the camera all the time.

You just kinda get your palm out of the way for a sec when it complains about camera covered then once that's done, you go back to holding it normally again.
 
There is no notch on the iPad Pro. And yes, it is easy to forget that it is there since you can be holding the iPad horizontally from either direction with no visual indication of which side has the FaceID. Do you even have a clue as to how FaceID works? Yes FaceID doesn’t work if you are covering the camera. FaceID even tells me that I am covering the camera and then works as expected once I move my hand.
The post you’re replying to here is an extremely sarcastic response to the op who complained the camera doesn’t work when their hand was covering it. I thought what I wrote was obviously sarcastic!!
 
... Why would I lie about having Face ID?

It usually fails if there's a light source nearby that shines on only one side of my face. I guess it could be set up wrong but all I can do to set it up is follow the directions on the screen, which I did.
Did you make a big circle or small circle when setting it up?

Not sure if it makes any difference, but I rotated my head as far as my neck would let me…making a big circle, so it got the underside of my chin, side of my face, etc. I rarely have any issues and can unlock my iPhone or iPad by glancing at it when it’s flat on my desk.

I tried to find a decent YouTube video, but honestly the ones I’ve found weren’t that great in my opinion. They either did a small circle or just bobbed their head around until it accepted it; instead of making a big, slow, smooth circle.
 
Did you make a big circle or small circle when setting it up?

Not sure if it makes any difference, but I rotated my head as far as my neck would let me…making a big circle, so it got the underside of my chin, side of my face, etc. I rarely have any issues and can unlock my iPhone or iPad by glancing at it when it’s flat on my desk.

I tried to find a decent YouTube video, but honestly the ones I’ve found weren’t that great in my opinion. They either did a small circle or just bobbed their head around until it accepted it; instead of making a big, slow, smooth circle.

I never set Faceid up with an exaggerated big circle and mine works just perfectly. I don't think there is a need to do that!

It is Faceid after all and not chin/side of face id
 
What I did when setting it up is for the first pass hold it right in front of me but for second hold it more far away. It's pretty rare for me to to retry Face ID unlocks.
 
The post you’re replying to here is an extremely sarcastic response to the op who complained the camera doesn’t work when their hand was covering it. I thought what I wrote was obviously sarcastic!!
I am the original poster who posted that FaceID doesn’t work when their hand is covering the camera. The camera works fine. I wasn’t being sarcastic and I would know better than anyone. I wasn’t even complaining, just stating the obvious about FaceID on the iPad Pro.
 
I am the original poster who posted that FaceID doesn’t work when their hand is covering the camera. The camera works fine. I wasn’t being sarcastic and I would know better than anyone. I wasn’t even complaining, just stating the obvious about FaceID on the iPad Pro.
Cupcakes2000 was saying that THEIR post was sarcastic not yours. This whole interaction is messy lol.
 
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I miss Touch ID. Went from an SE1 to a 12 Mini earlier this year. Situations I miss TouchID:

- ApplePay - used to be super simple, reach out with phone with finger on sensor. It's just more awkward having to double click the button, then bring it into view, then reach out with phone.

- Having the phone on the table - used to just reach out with finger on sensor. Now have to pick up and bring the phone back into view.

- Masks - This is self explanatory...

Would like TouchID added back, retaining FaceID. Best of both worlds.
 
I'm on an SE 2020, deliberating getting one of the newer phones...and this is the only issue that makes it a tough choice. I am a fan of Touch ID. I agree with the poster above me: I like the ergonomic simplicity of Apple Pay with Touch ID: the act of putting my phone to the reader and the act of positioning my thumb for authentication is essentially the same act, very smooth.

I also frequently unlock my phone by reaching out and touching the button without having to move the phone so it can see me.

But I think the larger issue for me is the sense of CONTROL. With Face ID, my role is passive, the phone's role is active: if it sees my face it is unlocking the phone, whether or not that's what I intended to do. With Touch ID it is the other way around: the phone will only unlock if I specifically take a simple action that tells it to unlock. I am in control of when my phone unlocks moreso than I am with Face ID. I feel that is the way it should be.

It feels unfortunate to me that I have to make this choice: stick with Touch ID and trade off the improved screen size or get the screen size and have to use Face ID. This wasn't the choice originally when Touch ID came into being: you either paid for the 5S and got Touch ID, or paid less and didn't get it, but otherwise the experience of using the phone was the same.


ADDED LATER: I just got a tutorial from my daughter on her 12 Mini, and she showed me that though the phone does automatically unlock when it sees your face, it does NOT leave the lock screen until I tell it to do so by swiping up (i.e. "pressing the home button"). From a security standpoint, this does not improve the situation (it is still unlocked and not necessarily when I intended) but from a user experience standpoint it is better than I feared (I do not leave the lock screen until I do a specific action under my control).
 
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But I think the larger issue for me is the sense of CONTROL. With Face ID, my role is passive, the phone's role is active: if it sees my face it is unlocking the phone, whether or not that's what I intended to do. With Touch ID it is the other way around: the phone will only unlock if I specifically take a simple action that tells it to unlock. I am in control of when my phone unlocks moreso than I am with Face ID. I feel that is the way it should be.

Just turn off raise to wake on the iPhone if you want more control over unlocking. You tap the screen to turn on the phone and initiate an unlock.
 
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