iPhone Is Landscape (horizontal) FaceID a hardware or software issue?

[SegPip]

Any iPhone X owner knows how frustrating it is when their phone is landscape orientation and you must rotate your phone to unlock with your face!
I was wondering if this is a definite hardware issue
(meaning it would be introduced as a feature of a new generation of iPhone)
or COULD this be a software update fix?

 

[Menel]

Any iPhone X owner knows how frustrating it is when their phone is landscape orientation and you must rotate your phone to unlock with your face!
I was wondering if this is a definite hardware issue
(meaning it would be introduced as a feature of a new generation of iPhone)
or COULD this be a software update fix?

No, I don’t find it frustrating. I never lift to use in that orientation. That orientation is like for youtube or something.

I have maybe on very rare occasion been using camera, locked my phone, and then been like, oh wait! But a quick wrist rotation works just fine.

 

[SegPip]

I usually encounter this when I'm watching Netflix but pause it with my AirPods, so the screen goes to sleep after a minute and then in order to unlock my phone, I can input my password sideways, I could crook my head very awkwardly (usually doesn't work), or I have to rotate my phone to portrait orientation and try again.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

I know very little about the hardware involved in FaceID but I find it hard to imagine it would be a hardware limitation. The IR matrix projected by the camera rests on the same contours whether it's in portrait or landscape.

iOS 12 allows adding a second face, doesn't it? Maybe adding a face with the phone in landscape would remedy the issue?

 

[jonobin]

The only way I can think this is an hardware issue is if the camera is mounted at a certain degree that doesn't 'punch' you in the face if used in landscape mode. Otherwise it's just software, and with an updated machine learning algorithm it can be implemented easily

 

[CTHarrryH]

Doesn't bother me at all

You can do almost anything with software taking a "picture" and rotating it.

 

[JPack]

There's strong evidence it's a hardware limitation.

The dot projector on iPhone X shines a beam at a downward angle. This is to make unlocking easier when iPhone X is on a tabletop.

If Apple tries horizontal unlocking with Face ID 1.0 hardware, users probably wouldn't be able to unlock reliably as the dots wouldn't hit the face, especially when iPhone is on a table.

 

[MhzDoesMatter]

I could see it being a slight mix of both. The 3D map was made in one orientation and in the other orientation, the converted mathematical data doesn't match the saved key.

The preceding answer was created with the "Tech Review Jargon Generator" app by The Verge, now with iMessage extensions!

 

[ghostface147]

Any iPhone X owner knows how frustrating it is when their phone is landscape orientation and you must rotate your phone to unlock with your face!
I was wondering if this is a definite hardware issue
(meaning it would be introduced as a feature of a new generation of iPhone)
or COULD this be a software update fix?

I think it’s hardware. If it was software, it’d be in testing. They’re not just going to release it and say it works perfectly. I don’t know of any software feature that wasn’t in beta and was released for older generation phones on the same day as the new phones. Can y’all?

 

[zorinlynx]

One feature I was hoping for when TouchID was announced would be portrait or landscape viewing based on *face orientation* instead of which way the phone is held with respect to gravity.

This way you could use your phone in bed and it would know you're using it in portrait even though it's turned horizontal.

Apple didn't bother to implement such a neat (and obvious) feature, though.

 

[ZEEN0j]

One feature I was hoping for when TouchID was announced would be portrait or landscape viewing based on *face orientation* instead of which way the phone is held with respect to gravity.

This way you could use your phone in bed and it would know you're using it in portrait even though it's turned horizontal.

Apple didn't bother to implement such a neat (and obvious) feature, though.

That would be nice. A toggle called “auto lock” with a face glyph when you force touch the lock orientation button in control center.

 

[bether]

Garageband in iPhone XR is working at landscape and Face ID is working landscape too
Look on my screen shot. The wah effect works when I open and close mouth.

 

[C DM]

Garageband in iPhone XR is working at landscape and Face ID is working landscape too
Look on my screen shot. The wah effect works when I open and close mouth.

Hard to say if what’s used for that is all that’s used and needed for actual Face ID (and likely that’s a big part of it all).

 

[woodenbrain]

Or just bring back Touch ID. I held out with iPhone 6 until just this month for that reason, suspect Face ID would be terrible. Not as bad as I feared, but – bad. This is one problem. I want to use a stand that works only in landscape position (otherwise cord gets in way) while at desk to charge. Because: if it is flat on a desk, it won't work if you just need to unlock it for a sync, etc. Or if you're sitting in bed resting on a hand, or have a sleep apnea mask, etc. etc.