The rumor mill suggests that the face detect is used for authentication, and is there because Apple hasn't been able to get the fingerprint sensor to read through the screen, and they need a quick-unlock feature like TouchID.
I hope it works - I rather like TouchID and would be disappointed to have it replaced by something crappier.
I do hope Apple have got this facial recognition stuff right, but personally I'm skeptical that it'll be better than TouchID.
For me, from reading previously leaks, this feels like a compromise where design (we want a phone that's all screen) wins out over usuability (TouchID is great for usuable security)
there were other rumors pointing to the touch id being integrated on the sides of the device and even worse but discredited rumor of it being moved to the back.
my concern with any facial recognition replacing what is currently in use is that many times I unlock my phone without having to look at it and rely on that. The old slip it out of my pocket and quick glance to see if I need to address something now
Face ID makes use of a front-facing IR sensor and dot projector. I hope those sensors make their way to the back of smartphones too. Could enable some very neat apps.
I don't see Face ID ever fully going away, even if Touch ID returns as an option. The depth-sensing camera is used for other purposes, too, like Animojis.
Any type of "authentication" wouldn't make sense, that'd be as silly as a finger print scanner. Smile detector might be fun but certainly not worth the privacy trade off. There's only 1 useful feature I can think of and I've yet to see it done: when my head is sideways and the phone is sideways, I'm lying down, don't rotate the frickin' screen. Still not worth the privacy trade off, but people who don't care will be very happy.
Why not? There's no technical reason why the touch or face sensor needs to be trusted. The actual security processing happens in the secure element. The sensor is just an input device.
Not OP - but it's not innovation for me personally. Not technically, I mean it's not a feature that I expect to make an impact in my life, and if the iPhone 12 (or w/e) has support for Display TouchID then I'd never use FaceID again.
This is all speculation of course - and likely outside of the scope of this conversation, hopefully I'm not detracting too much though :)
Apple would not introduce functionnality like Face ID in an update. That is not how they operate. As a matter of fact, I'm not so sure they have every single sensor required for Face ID in that display.
I'm disappointed by the facial recognition authentication. I had it on my Nexus 4 and it was annoying. You can't discreetly unlock your phone in your lap or in your pocket and steal a glance at a notification, or use the phone in any number of other scenarios unless the phone is square with your face. Touchid was perfect for this.
If it’s done right then I would expect Face ID to be as fast, fewer false positives, fewer fails. I don’t know if Apple has accomplished these goals but if they did then I'd consider their implementation innovative and would not assume it was done due merely to an inability to integrate Touch ID into the display.
I agree but keep in mind that this same principal applies to TouchID, which is what FaceID is replacing. FaceID is so much better than TouchID in so many aspects. Less false positives, it works even if your fingers are wet, and it's a natural behavior to look at the screen.
Both TouchID and FaceID is trying to protect from complete stranger. I know that with FaceID (if it does exactly what the video suggests) it will be a harder challenge to unlock.
Yes, this has been a perennial rumor which is probably propagated by how much people don't like Face ID all that much. Face ID is fine when it works, and sucks when it doesn't. And mask wearing has really accelerated it being much worse, and we'll be wearing masks as a standard piece of dress for another two years I guess.
I do miss Touch ID, but that had its own problems (gloves, wet fingers). So one would hope there is a solution that has both. I'd personally be just peachy with a fingerprint sensor on the back just like the Pixel line used to have. I mean, how much is a fingerprint sensor manufacturing cost? $5?
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