iPhone X Is it me, or does Face ID suck? [MERGED]

[Cool Pup]

TouchID feels "broken" to me everytime i have to use it on my iPad or Macbook.

I feel like it's breaking my flow, while FaceID just happens. Especially when using Apps with FaceID/TouchID lock.

Face ID still requires a swipe up motion, something Touch ID did not.

I'm mixed on my feelings about Face ID. It is clear it's still in the first stages of its technology and version 2 will be far superior, because when using it at an awkward angle, groggy in the morning, or out in supreme brightness it can be very dodgy. Touch ID was also a much simpler experience (put a finger on this button is something Luddite grandparents can understand) and likely unlocks faster as a process than Face ID, especially if you remove the animations when it comes to unlocking, but the speed is relatively close regardless so they aren't that much better than the other at that.

Face ID works pretty well most of the time, much like Touch ID version 1 did. I have issues with Face ID in terms of how to angle my phone, I feel like the whole phone screen itself should be reading the face data, because aiming at the one notch can be tricky to do in some circumstances, especially just waking up in the morning. Not going to be possible anytime soon, but I think that might be a more convenient all around in terms of having to unlock your phone straight ahead instead of any other angle you might have your phone oriented in.

I don't think Touch ID more or less secure than Face ID, but it probably is, however I didn't encounter many incidents of people cracking Touch ID — but it doesn't mean people didn't do it. The security measures behind both technologies are both pretty solid so I don't think either/or is better than the other at being secure in traditional consumer use cases.

It's impressive how good Face ID can be when you turn off attention, though, it still relies on the phone at a perfect horizontal angle (you cannot unlock at other angles unlike the new iPad Pro does) whereas Touch ID can be unlocked holding the device at any particular situation. For example, I would often check my notifications quickly with the phone angled just barely out of my pocket with Touch ID, but now I'm unable to do that as it involves me holding the phone front and center ahead of my face. It's a little more inconvenient for some circumstances is ultimately the complaint people have about Face ID vs. Touch ID, not so much the ineffectiveness of the technology.

With the MacBook Air bringing Touch ID back from the dead, it could be possible to put it back under the screen in a future iPhone model with either security measure being available to from us to choose from — that would be the ideal future in my opinion.

I've been using Apple devices for a while and really I think people are not realizing just how good Touch ID version 2 was. It didn't need to be thrown out, it was just primarily replaced because Apple couldn't viably place it under the screen because they wanted an all-screen device, it wasn't because of any security holes or inefficiencies. It is still extremely good technology.

 

[StaceyMJ86]

I’ve had the X since launch and came into using the phone with an open mind. I love Face ID, which is faster than Touch ID and more secure in my opinion. It works for me 99% of the time. Even at night laying in the bed I don’t have any issues. When it come to using Apple Pay, I don’t have any issues either. It seems you have a thread from last year regarding Face ID, so maybe it’s just not for you.

 

[neil74]

It works great for me and I like how passive it is but it is definitely slower than a FPS.

Also for me anyway there are still question marks re it's safety, eye strain etc. I'd rather have both options tbh.

 

[iScone]

Your forgot to say "in your opinion" and no I don't agree.

Do you seriously need that to be added? Dude, it's obviously my opinion. Newsflash: things I write are my opinion.
[doublepost=1540982140][/doublepost]

No surprise there op looks like you made your mind up a long time ago.
Just more of the same.

How did you figure? The quote in question was for the X. I'd hoped the XS would improve it. It hasn't. It still sucks.

 

[FFR]

Face ID still requires a swipe up motion, something Touch ID did not.

No, Touch ID also require you place your finger at the bottom of the screen on the Touch ID sensor and depresss the button to unlock, while swiping up is much easier and takes almost no effort, it’s referred to as passive biometrics for a reason.

No idea why anyone uses those arguments, even before Touch ID you would have to swipe to unlock the screen, or has everyone conveniently forgotten that. It was a slide to unlock and then a pin. That was annoying.

 

[FFR]

Do you seriously need that to be added? Dude, it's obviously my opinion. Newsflash: things I write are my opinion.
[doublepost=1540982140][/doublepost]

How did you figure? The quote in question was for the X. I'd hoped the XS would improve it. It hasn't. It still sucks.

In your opinion.
But you already formed your opinion before you even used Face ID. According to You, you never got the x but your opinion was that “Face ID sucked” and you felt validated for your opinion, that no one else shared. Now you claim to have the max and Face ID works but in your opinion “still sucks”, just because.

Yeah cool story.

 

[jona2125]

No, Touch ID also require you place your finger at the bottom of the screen on the Touch ID sensor and depresss the button to unlock, while swiping up is much easier and takes almost no effort, it’s referred to as passive biometrics for a reason.

No idea why anyone uses those arguments, even before Touch ID you would have to swipe to unlock the screen, or has everyone conveniently forgotten that. It was a slide to unlock and then a pin. That was annoying.

The only qualms I have with no home button is that I really don’t like swiping to get to everything I need to. Going backwards within apps isn’t too big of a deal but I do a lot of frequent switching and I really do miss the most minimal motion method of pressing down on my thumb to clear what’s in front of me. I’ve tried to fake in what Samsung does with their non-physical home button by using the accessibility one on the iPhone but it’s just not the same at all. I will say that the XS seems to have improved a bit though because none of my X’s were consistent with the swipe up feature unless I started completely off screen. Now I can at least move my thumb down from rest and go up and it works much more consistently

 

[GDF]

What a stupid post. FaceID is great and would never go back to touchid. Guessing you are doing something wrong if you don't like it.

 

[Seth Matthews]

Face ID works great for me. No issues. It certainly doesn't suck. I haven't thought about Touch ID since about a week into owning my X last year. I've moved on.

 

[AJAAY]

Having used the Max for a full month, I've given it a try. I had hoped to be used to it by now, or to have found a way to use my phone so it doesn't get in the way, but it does.

For the record, I don't have a defective unit - the phone works brilliantly, and in every other way I couldn't be happier with my XS Max. But Face ID seriously sucks. It's not as quick or as efficient as Touch ID, and I couldn't care less about how much more secure it is.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

Yes I had issues with Face ID on the Max when I had it. I actually believe I may have had a defective sensor, because often times Face ID would not work even when I held the phone the same way when performing a scan.

Face ID is still in its infancy. And not ready to be the only biometric authentication for a device. I think Touch ID and Face ID should be implemented together. So in situations where one doesn’t work, you can use the other. But Touch ID is superior to Face ID as there are more situations where Touch ID will work better.

 

[JesperA]

I really like Face ID, i only wished the dot-projector and all other Face ID bits where more "wide angle" so i could unlock the phone closer to my face. When i lay in my bed or in the sofa i have the iPhone pretty close to my face, 20-30cm and it wont unlock at that distance.

No biggie though

 

[Cool Pup]

No, Touch ID also require you place your finger at the bottom of the screen on the Touch ID sensor and depresss the button to unlock, while swiping up is much easier and takes almost no effort, it’s referred to as passive biometrics for a reason.

There's a setting to make it so you don't have to push or press anything and rather it unlocks when you place your phone over the button, called "Rest Finger to Open"; it made a world of difference for the unlock experience in my use cases. When doing it on a device with no physical home button such as the iPhone 8, it was seamless without any potential fumbling with the device to swipe up, almost like you are just holding the phone in your hand. Whereas with Face ID, when using a larger device like the XS Max, there's potential to make unlocking a process that is nearly improbable to do one-handed if you are multitasking especially.

When in a normal setting it isn't really an issue to unlock with Face ID and failure rates are uncommon, but my complaints were primarily involving a quick check of the phone more than a dedicated time to use the device. I have used Face and Touch ID products for as long as the the products have been released and my experience has shown more faults and inconsistencies with Face ID than Touch ID version 2. I'm sure this will be different once the 2019 phones are out with Face ID 2.0, however, so I'm not saying it's bad or anything I just feel like it makes for more inconvenient moments than a quick fingerprint scan can.

I like both features but outside of "I'm wearing gloves or my finger is wet" there aren't many times that make Face ID more user friendly than a finger on a device that you were holding in the first place that you don't even need to have the screen on for it to unlock.

 

[FFR]

There's a setting to make it so you don't have to push or press anything and rather it unlocks when you place your phone over the button. "Rest Finger to Open"; it made a world of difference for the unlock experience in my use cases. When doing it on a device with no physical home button such as the iPhone 8, it was seamless without any potential fumbling with the device to swipe up. When using a larger device like the XS Max, there's potential to make unlocking a process that is nearly improbable to do one-handed if distracted.

When in a normal setting it isn't really an issue, but my complaints were primarily involving a quick check of the phone more than a dedicated time to use the device.

I like both technologies but outside of "I'm wearing gloves or my finger is wet" there aren't many times that make Face ID more user friendly than a finger on a device that you were holding in the first place that you don't even need to have the screen out for.

Whether you choose to depress the button or simply “rest your finger” on the sensor the fact remains that your still interacting with the bottom of the device. With face id you just have to swipe up instead of resting your finger in a particular point on the bottom of the device.

Once again fail to see the argument you are trying to make, even while distracted I sometimes swipe up before even looking at the screen, always one handed, sometime as I’m taking the device out of my pocket, it’s quite intuitive.

Once users get used to Face ID, fingerprint biometrics seem archaic in comparison to passive biometric solutions

 

[TedJustAdmitit]

What a stupid post. FaceID is great and would never go back to touchid. Guessing you are doing something wrong if you don't like it.

"Stupid post", that's a bit extreme, especially since it hasn't died yet. Also I have yet to get Face ID to work for me when I wake up in the morning. I like Face ID a lot, but it does have it's flaws.

 

[Cool Pup]

Whether you choose to depress the button or simply “rest your finger” on the sensor the fact remains that your still interacting with the bottom of the device. With face id you just have to swipe up instead of resting your finger in a particular point on the bottom of the device.

Once again fail to see the argument you are trying to make, even while distracted I sometimes swipe up before even looking at the screen, always one handed, sometime as I’m taking the device out of my pocket, it’s quite intuitive.

Once users get used to Face ID, fingerprint biometrics seem archaic in comparison to passive biometric solutions

To unlock the device with Face ID, you have to physically hold the phone to your face or have it centered in front of your body. Previously with Touch ID, I was able to make small notes or check my mail without getting the phone off of the table or out of my pocket entirely, especially groggy in the morning when I might not instantly have the wherewithal to put my face in front of the phone. These little quality of life differences matter, even if it's just a few seconds of my time.

It isn't a major thing that takes a ton of time all things considered, but it does change how people use their devices and is not merely a matter of getting used to it by itself. For example, the angle that you use your phone in has to change in order to optimize the Face ID experience to unlock accordingly. Not a big thing by any stretch but the angle you hold your phone at is the life and death of Face ID's reliability and sometimes it doesn't work right if you hold it off angle.

It might not be more secure and is certainly more complicated to crack, however I really don't think version 2 of Touch ID is bad or archaic technology at all, it is still reliable and trustworthy on its own merits and doesn't require full attention to your device to unlock to use.

 

[Garemlin]

I'll agree unlocking with face ID can at times be a little more difficult than the fingerprint scanner. Sometimes have to move the phone around or try a few times. But the winner for me is opening apps that support it. Open the app and no further action is required. I mean seriously if you are opeing a secure app more than likely you are already looking at the phone anyway.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Touch ID is a greater convenience. I never had to think about it. My fingers are already going to be on the phone, so putting my thumb on the fingerprint sensor is not a hindrance.

Face ID is a nuisance. Face too close to the phone? Try again. Laying in bed wanting to use your phone? Hold it up like you're trying to get reception in the 90s and get it in the perfect orientation. Trying to unlock your phone discretely? Here, let me stare at it for 2 seconds. Trying to unlock it while driving to give to the passenger to do something for you? Here, let me give you a near death experience first. Trying to use the phone laying on a desk? Hold on. I need to bend over the phone and stare at it like an idiot.

Touch IDs issue? Doesn't work with wet hands. Ok, I'll live.

Needless to say, I'm not sold, but I've made my peace with it that it's not going anywhere.

 

[FFR]

To unlock the device with Face ID, you have to physically hold the phone to your face or have it centered in front of your body. Previously with Touch ID, I was able to make small notes or check my mail without getting the phone off of the table or out of my pocket entirely, especially groggy in the morning when I might not instantly have the wherewithal to put my face in front of the phone. These little quality of life differences matter, even if it's just a few seconds of my time.

It isn't a major thing that takes a ton of time all things considered, but it does change how people use their devices and is not merely a matter of getting used to it by itself. For example, the angle that you use your phone in has to change in order to optimize the Face ID experience to unlock accordingly. Not a big thing by any stretch but the angle you hold your phone at is the life and death of Face ID's reliability and sometimes it doesn't work right if you hold it off angle.

It might not be more secure and is certainly more complicated to crack, however I really don't think version 2 of Touch ID is bad or archaic technology at all, it is still reliable and trustworthy on its own merits and doesn't require full attention to your device to unlock to use.

No idea how you operate your phone to check mail or write notes without holding your device, but ok, from my experience if you can look at the screen Face ID will unlock the device.

Face ID on the iPhone max works at angles too, you don’t have to hold the device or be positioned directly in front of it to work. This morning I leaned over, while in bed to look at my notification and Face ID unlocked the phone while lying flat on the bedside table. So no idea what’s your wrong with your iPhone XS but Face ID has been improved on the max, I know because I also have an iPhone X.


Once you get accustomed to passive biometric security on a device Touch ID is completely archaic in comparison.

I for one am glad apple has moved away from Touch ID on iOS device, now just waiting for them to introduce it on Macs.


It doesn’t sound like you have an Xs, Xs max, or xr, perhaps you should use one and it might alleviate your concerns.

 

[Dario69]

Whether you choose to depress the button or simply “rest your finger” on the sensor the fact remains that your still interacting with the bottom of the device. With face id you just have to swipe up instead of resting your finger in a particular point on the bottom of the device.

Once again fail to see the argument you are trying to make, even while distracted I sometimes swipe up before even looking at the screen, always one handed, sometime as I’m taking the device out of my pocket, it’s quite intuitive.

Once users get used to Face ID, fingerprint biometrics seem archaic in comparison to passive biometric solutions

What you described for Face ID still sounds a lot like interaction to me. Finding the home button for Touch ID is quite intuitive for me as well. Almost second nature, just like your description of your use case for Face ID. So we both have archaic and timely solutions that work. Good for us, good for Apple!!

 

[FFR]

What you described for Face ID still sounds a lot like interaction to me. Finding the home button for Touch ID is quite intuitive for me as well. Almost second nature, just like your description of your use case for Face ID. So we both have archaic and timely solutions that work. Good for us, good for Apple!!

Definitely. Whether it’s swipe up, slide to unlock, or touching the home button, difference being with swiping up you don’t have to fixate on a single point on the device, you just swipe up and Face ID initiates authentication as soon as you look at your device screen. Which is the premise of using your device...looking at the screen.

 

[neteng101]

doesn’t sound like you have an Xs, Xs max, or xr, perhaps you should use one and it might alleviate your concerns.

Second this - there's really no way to fully understand FaceID without living with it/using it day to day. Unless you have a defect, it should be seamless enough that it doesn't seem like you are authenticating to the phone, just using it naturally. TouchID works well but it feels rather like a forced action.

FaceID doesn't always result in a swipe up either - you can jump directly into an app from clicking on a notification. And requiring "attention" ie. looking at the phone, can be turned off if you don't want that extra level of security. Times where I find FaceID not allowing me in, I wasn't looking at the phone.

 

[Cool Pup]

No idea how you operate your phone to check mail or write notes without holding your device, but ok, from my experience if you can look at the screen Face ID will unlock the device.

Face ID on the iPhone max works at angles too, you don’t have to hold the device or be positioned directly in front of it to work. This morning I leaned over, while in bed to look at my notification and Face ID unlocked the phone while lying flat on the bedside table. So no idea what’s your wrong with your iPhone XS but Face ID has been improved on the max, I know because I also have an iPhone X.


Once you get accustomed to passive biometric security on a device Touch ID is completely archaic in comparison.

I for one am glad apple has moved away from Touch ID on iOS device, now just waiting for them to introduce it on Macs.


It doesn’t sound like you have an Xs, Xs max, or xr, perhaps you should use one and it might alleviate your concerns.

You still have to hold and pick up the device for Face ID to be functional. When you use an iPhone 8 Plus for an example, you can rest it on the table and still use the device functionally as well as unlocking it as it's more of a tablet than a phone. It is very easy to how someone could use a mobile device against a table or without holding it, especially in consuming or checking messages quickly without having to pick up the device. For Face ID to unlock, you absolutely have to hold the phone at an angle for it to read your face and sometimes it won't get it if you're just barely off angle with the sensor. I find it hard to believe people have never reached out and checked their phone off angle just for a quick glance to not realize the inconvenience about having to place the phone within a range for the camera to pick up your scan. With Touch ID, I often had my phone already unlocked in my pocket with the application launched by the time it would take me to unlock with my face scan and swipe up with Face ID to launch the app.

I do have an Xs, and I have used an Xs Max more than a few times and the Xs is currently my daily driver. My issues with Face ID do not mean I dislike the device or the technology itself. It has downsides that are not present in Touch ID and no amount of speed of time can change the fact you have a limited range to unlock whereas the fingerprint sensor can be unlocked within arm's reach (also in a pocket or bag) without an extra step to put it within range of your face. It will get better in time but as of now Face ID is not better than Touch ID 2.0 in efficiency.

 

[TedJustAdmitit]

Now if they could just make the Apple in the back Touch ID enabled, then I could live with Face ID. Apple would never do that though.

 

[Compile 'em all]

No, Touch ID also require you place your finger at the bottom of the screen on the Touch ID sensor and depresss the button to unlock, while swiping up is much easier and takes almost no effort, it’s referred to as passive biometrics for a reason.

No idea why anyone uses those arguments, even before Touch ID you would have to swipe to unlock the screen, or has everyone conveniently forgotten that. It was a slide to unlock and then a pin. That was annoying.

Swiping up isn't much easier. You have to move your fingers "away" from the bottom of the screen where they usually are.

No matter how much you guys say, TouchID did provide a much faster and simpler and more accurate user experience. You either have never used TouchID on an iPhone 8 or are just making stuff up. On iPhone 8, you didn't even need to click on the non-moving home button. It was that fast. You literally put your finger and you are on the home screen.

With TouchID, Your hand is "already" near the bottom of the screen and there is a very clear "physical" target to hit to authenticate. Everything is deterministic and clear. With FaceID, it is "may be". I have never been able to unlock using FaceID while in bed for example.

FaceID is a regression in my opinion. It is cool, when it works. But if it is going to replace touchID it must be better than TouchID, which it isn't.

 

[FFR]

You still have to hold and pick up the device for Face ID to be functional.

Again that’s simply not true. It’s why I question whether you actually have an Xs or not.