iPhone X Face ID is Preventing Me From Buying an iPhone X - Anyone Else?

[joeblow7777]

My question is how do you discreetly unlock the phone?

I guess it will stop people using their phones while driving in Ontario!

People have been asking this a lot, but the way Apple makes it sound, if you can see the front of the phone well enough to actually use it, then it can see you.

Yes, with TouchID you can unlock your phone without looking at it, but if you're not going to look at it at all, why did you unlock it?

 

[I’mpaced]

Nope. I’m buying regardless

 

[TheRealAlex]

Let me first say that I think Face ID will function as advertised. That's not my issue. My issue is that there are specific situations where the phone isn't in my hand and getting my face where it needs to be simply won't work. Some examples:

I'm in meetings all day and frequently need to quietly check an email or two; Face ID would require me to pick up the phone to look at it or lean forward in an obvious manner, tipping off the person speaking.

I commute by car each day and use a vent mount to hold my phone; Face ID would require me to do neck gymnastics to get my eyes oriented over the center console to unlock it if I'm getting gas or am parked in a queue to pick up my son after school.

At my desk, my iPhone lies flat about 8 inches away from the keyboard. To wake the phone I merely press the home button. To unlock it I keep pressing. With Face ID to wake the phone lying flat on the desk I need to use my whole hand to grip the phone and hit the side button with my thumb. If I then want to unlock it I need to pick it up and point it at my face.

I have a beach house and am full of sticky sunscreen and sand as I sit in my chair with my phone lying flat on the armrest. With Touch ID all I have to do is keep my pointer finger clean to unlock the phone. With Face ID I have to grab the entire phone with my dirty hand, get the case full of oily chemicals, and get the case full of gritty sand merely to check for a text message notification which I tend to do every 15 minutes.

I use Apple Pay constantly and the new behavior adds steps and complexity. With Touch ID all I have to do is slide my hand in my pocket, pull it out by the thumb, and before the phone hits the wireless terminal it's already unlocked and authenticated. With Face ID it takes twice as long to double click buttons, raise the phone to my face, etc.

I'm not afraid of the technology. I believe it will function as advertised. What I'm saying is that there is nothing convenient about Face ID except almost exclusively for situations where the phone is in your hand. And for my usecases at least 50% of the time my phone is not in my hand when I need to unlock it. So it will prevent me from buying a X. Which is a shame because I like the new screen and I like the new gestures and am bored of the 6/7/8 form factor.

Face ID is a thing now and will never go away here’s the next 5-10 Years.

#1. Start you Car with Face ID. And it knows if you are watching the road

#2. Insurance companies will require and have access to Face ID data and base rates or accident fault if you are watching the road or not.
#3. Advertisers will know what part of the computer screen you are looking at.
#4. Employers will have apps which tell them how much their employees are looking at their screens and working.
#5. Like skipping Youtube ads. Well soon they won’t skip unless you are looking at them since they know when a person is looking or not.

 

[44267547]

I bought the 8 to see how the face ID fares. Don't care to have the latest and greatest, just a phone that works. Only upgraded for the quick charge and wireless charging.

Fair statement. And I think this would certainly be a trial year for the iPhone X and next year Apple will be offering two models with Face ID with two different sizes. I think a lot of iPhone consumers are still holding out until after this year, and waiting until next year to see where this iPhone goes and what others thoughts are behind it.

 

[ericwn]

My question is how do you discreetly unlock the phone?

I guess it will stop people using their phones while driving in Ontario!

Maybe some, but the crazy ones will continue to use their phones. I see this daily on the roads around Toronto.

 

[ericwn]

Face ID is a thing now and will never go away here’s the next 5-10 Years.

#1. Start you Car with Face ID. And it knows if you are watching the road

#2. Insurance companies will require and have access to Face ID data and base rates or accident fault if you are watching the road or not.
#3. Advertisers will know what part of the computer screen you are looking at.
#4. Employers will have apps which tell them how much their employees are looking at their screens and working.
#5. Like skipping Youtube ads. Well soon they won’t skip unless you are looking at them since they know when a person is looking or not.

And the spreading of FUD goes happily on. Since Apple is not in the business of dealing with your private data, that’s a far fetched scenario. What others do without Apple tech, we’ll have to wait and see. If is as likely that the new Spaceship campus lifts into orbit.

 

[boltjames]

Yes, with TouchID you can unlock your phone without looking at it, but if you're not going to look at it at all, why did you unlock it?

I use Apple Pay 2x to 5x a day and I never look at it the way Face ID requires. In fact, my iPhone is unlocked by my thumb in a singular and fluid motion as it emerges from my pocket and is placed on a coffee shop contactless terminal.

I go through airport security 40x a year and with my mobile boarding pass set as the last thing I viewed that same fluid motion of thumb on the home button for the 2 second ride from my pocket to the glass TSA qr code scanner doesn't require me to stop and look at it first.

Just two examples. There are more.

 

[patricem]

Someone who hates TouchID...ok.

So I'm assuming many times you press the home button and it's not detecting a match to your fingerprint.

Are your fingers greasy or sweaty a lot?

If we eliminate those issues, the problem lies in the orientation of the finger when you set up TouchID.

The key when registering your fingerprint is not to hold your finger at 0° offset.

TouchID works better when the finger at least 30-45°. My thumbprint is registered at nearly 80°.

TouchID works 100% of the time for me. I kid you not! And I unlock my phone constantly because I run it exclusively in low-power mode.

You mean register the side of the thumb? I did my thumb about 5-6 different ways. Still major trouble unlocking. Maybe its the phone? I dont sweat and dont have greasy skin. To me, Touch ID is maddening. Actually, I hate it because it rarely works. I've never bought a new phone at launch, I usually buy last years models....but I am really wanting the FaceID.

 

[canuckRus]

My wife went with a iphone 8, because of fear of face ID. She reads up on all the conspiracy theories of the government or other agencies spying on our lives through cameras. We've went around and around about not putting tape on my MacBook camera. I'm a full time nursing student, a father of 3, and a husband. Nothing so interesting going on here for someone to watch me. lol

Don't forget Siri is listening as well.

 

[joeblow7777]

I use Apple Pay 2x to 5x a day and I never look at it the way Face ID requires. In fact, my iPhone is unlocked by my thumb in a singular and fluid motion as it emerges from my pocket and is placed on a coffee shop contactless terminal.

I go through airport security 40x a year and with my mobile boarding pass set as the last thing I viewed that same fluid motion of thumb on the home button for the 2 second ride from my pocket to the glass TSA qr code scanner doesn't require me to stop and look at it first.

Just two examples. There are more.

Well, I'm afraid you're either going to have to pass on the X and likely future iPhones, or get used to having to glance at your phone in those situations.

 

[AttilaTheHun]

Removing the home button, touch id and the notch are all reasons why I chose the 8. Oh and the price.

for me iPhone 7 7+ will be the last one I like metal phone not glass and face ID I really dont care

 

[jtwlbz]

Amoled, face id, notch turned me off

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Amoled, face id, notch turned me off

Luddite.

 

[bopajuice]

Other phones already offer facial recognition. Problem is every time I tried to access my phone I heard this laughing sound. Apparently I am too ugly for facial recognition to take me seriously. Well that and what if I was a wanted fugitive and had worry about getting caught.

 

[brianric]

Touch ID has already been disgusting, but Face ID is even worse. I don´t want my phone to treat me like a criminal. I don´t want my fingerprints and face being scanned. I claim, that these biometric "security" systems are intentionally introduced in order to playfully get us accustomed to the oncoming total surveillance state. And the "ears" on the iPhone X look like horns to me! So I have the horns of the devil on a device that scans my face. Thanks, but, no! Yes, Face ID is preventing me from buying the iPhone X.

Surveillance state already exist. Drive a car and have Ezpass, the all powerful state can track your movement. Don't want Ezpass for that reason plate readers can pick up your wear about. Use a credit card and you can be tracked. Go to any large city and security cameras are recording your face. Use a smart phone and you can be tracked. The total surveillance state has been around for years.

 

[jsmith189]

Touch ID has already been disgusting, but Face ID is even worse. I don´t want my phone to treat me like a criminal. I don´t want my fingerprints and face being scanned. I claim, that these biometric "security" systems are intentionally introduced in order to playfully get us accustomed to the oncoming total surveillance state. And the "ears" on the iPhone X look like horns to me! So I have the horns of the devil on a device that scans my face. Thanks, but, no! Yes, Face ID is preventing me from buying the iPhone X.

Yikes.

If that's your concern, you need to get rid of any smart phone, ever. Also never leave the country, don't travel in your car, make sure you don't have a new TV, get rid of all your laptops, iPads, hell even fridges. If they wanted your face, they would have had it a long time ago.

 

[tazuki]

I'm expecting Face ID to be great.
I have been using Razer Stargazer webcam to unlock windows for an year now and it just works, fast, every time.
With rase to wake the iPhone, I'm expecting to just swype and that's it, since the unlock should be done fast as soon as the iPhone is awake.
No more misreads of fingerprint when hands are sweaty, no more thinking which fingerprint to use, no more needing to remove gloves to unlock it, etc.
I'm really looking forward to have my X

 

[Havixbeck]

[Edit]

 

[Bane-Thunder]

Removing the home button, touch id and the notch are all reasons why I chose the 8. Oh and the price.

Well that is what the 8 was designed for. Your kind that don't like change.

I've been wanting the home button gone since the iPhone 4 and thats before Touch ID existed so i don't care about touch id.

 

[AnthonyG6]

I think people just need to wait until they've actually tried out FaceID for themselves instead of making assumptions of how it will work and how it won't. Personally I am looking forward to getting the iPhone X and I don't mind being a beta tester for the FaceID. I was a beta tester for TouchID and it was absolutely awesome. I'm also glad that Apple didn't compromise and put the TouchID on the back like some Android phones. I don't see any use cases where that would be an advantage if you already have FaceID apart from having the phone already unlocked when you pull it out of your pocket, but you'll still have to look at it, so even then that's pointless.

In summary, don't knock it until you've tried it.

 

[DNichter]

Looks like you should start thinking about a new platform as Touch ID won't be returning. The 8 and prior should at least last a few more years. Face ID looks like a nice improvement considering you won't even need to think about authentication anymore. After viewing hands on videos and reading through some experiences, it seems like it works extremely well. There is really no reason to take a step back and revert to Touch ID. I don't see them dedicating resources to tech that requires physical input.

 

[Impatientmac]

Well that is what the 8 was designed for. Your kind that don't like change.

I've been wanting the home button gone since the iPhone 4 and thats before Touch ID existed so i don't care about touch id.

I don't like bad changes. Not sure I understand ( or believe tbh) why youd want the homebutton gone that far back. What would replace it? Change for the sake of change is why they made the X for people like you.

 

[bufffilm]

Well that is what the 8 was designed for. Your kind that don't like change.

Way to generalize and dismiss us.

I work in IT...change happens.

But choosing to abandon TouchID and adopt FaceID all at the same time in the ipX...it's presumptuous at worst and ??? at best.

 

[DNichter]

I don't like bad changes. Not sure I understand ( or believe tbh) why youd want the homebutton gone that far back. What would replace it? Change for the sake of change is why they made the X for people like you.

Well to be fair, and you have every right now to like the change, it doesn't necessarily mean it's "bad" for everyone. I am assuming he was interested in a gesture based UI since the Palm Pre days. I know I was. Face ID looks to be a nice step forward considering you won't even really need to think about authenticating it. Pick up your phone and swipe to your homescreen. Brings back the old swipe to unlock people loved. The X overall is a step forward in what a phone UI can be like. The 8 and prior will stick around for a couple years until more people are ready for the change, but some people like the poster and myself are okay with the change right now. There is no wrong choice here.

 

[Bane-Thunder]

I don't like bad changes. Not sure I understand ( or believe tbh) why youd want the homebutton gone that far back. What would replace it? Change for the sake of change is why they made the X for people like you.

No, I wanted the home button gone, to get more screen real estate. I wanted the phone to go all screen after the 4S came out and i've had to wait all these years to finally see it come to fruition. No doubt I'm buying the phone day one.