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iPhone SE (2020) Tips/Advice/Thoughts on transitioning from TouchID to FaceID

han42solo

han42solo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 20, 2024
4
5
Seattle-ish
Hello everyone!
Longtime MacRumors lurker, first time poster here…but been with Apple/Mac for a long time. (My first Mac was a Performa 6116CD!)

Anyhow…I’m faced with the sobering reality that my iPhone SE (Gen2) is not going to live forever. I have long resisted FaceID, as I like the tactile feel of the Home Button, and it seems that my ability to activate it in my pocket and have it ready by the time I pull it out will be compromised, as will my ability to discreetly unlock my iPhone at a low angle. With the speculation on the new SE4 being FaceID, and TouchID on iPhones going the way of headphone jacks and 30-pin connectors, I’m wondering:

What were some of the hurdles you faced with the first FaceID phone you had? What behaviors/habits took the longest to get used to? What did you like right away? What have you come to accept? What have you grown to love?

Thanks in advance for any input you may have!
 
I think by default FaceID unlocks just by detecting your face. I didn't care for that because most of the time when I pick up my phone it's not with the intent to use it. It's to either check the time or the previews of notifications. It'll unlock the moment it detects your face, so worry about being discrete at a 'low angle' may not be a worry. For me, I had to set the device to be attention-aware. I.e., don't unlock unless you (the phone) detects that I am indeed staring at the screen.

One thing I can mention is that you don't have to worry about wearing out any buttons. I switch back and forth between my 11PM (FaceID) and my iPad (6th Gen)/6s Plus/6 Plus (all TouchID) during the day and have long become annoyed that I have to click the home button rather than swiping up.

I know lots of people have issues with FaceID but for me it rarely fails, whether I am wearing my glasses or not. Didn't take me long to get used to it.
 
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Scan your face and look at the device. Very easy to use and way more reliable than TouchID(in my particular situation). It was one of the main reasons why I replaced my 6S when I purchased the X in 2017.
 
Face ID has become so transparent to me I forget it is working. The rare time I use my iPad mini, I hate Touch ID!:mad:
 
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Honestly, Face ID works so well that I'm genuinely surprised the few times it doesn't. Touch ID is great too.
 
I never had any problems but to be fair before I had a 12 Pro Max my last iPhone was a 4S so never used Touch ID on an iPhone.

It was easy to scan my face and after that "it just worked". FaceID is so good that I forget it's even there. It unlocks super quick even if I'm not actually holding my phone or if I am holding it at an usual angle. All you gotta do is swipe up to get into your phone. I use Face ID for more than just unlocking the phone. I use Apple Pay almost exclusively and I have a few apps secured with it like my banking app.

It'll take a while to adjust but I'd say after a week you'll be fine with it. There is a setting that allows it to unlock without attention so you don't need to be looking directly at your phone but it does lower security. I believe you still do need to have your eyes open so it's not like someone can use your phone to unlock it when you're sleeping.

Touch ID i have used on a family members iPad and I hate it. You need to think to put your finger on the button and it's slower to unlock. I used to want Apple to put in a touch sensor under the display or in the power button but it's really not needed. Face ID is by far the best way to unlock a phone that I've ever used.
 
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When I’m working I have my phone on the desk beside my keyboard. When I see a notification, I look at the phone an it unlocks.

Super-convenient. If you’re workflow is such that you don’t want the phone unlocking when you pick it up, its going to take some getting used to reorient your workflow.
 
I recently switched from a 2020 SE to an iPhone 13. The transition to Face ID was super easy, and I agree with others on this forum that it’s faster and easier to use. The harder transition for me to make has been getting used to pulling down from the top of the phone to access the control center instead of sliding up from the bottom. I still get it wrong about 10% of the time after nearly a month on the new phone.
 
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You won't miss it. Face ID is much faster and it will work without having to take off your gloves.

You can add a virtual button by turning it on via the Accessibility settings menu. My father has that on his iphone 15 pro max as he doesn't like swiping up and down the screen.
 
han42solo said:
Hello everyone!
Longtime MacRumors lurker, first time poster here…but been with Apple/Mac for a long time. (My first Mac was a Performa 6116CD!)

Anyhow…I’m faced with the sobering reality that my iPhone SE (Gen2) is not going to live forever. I have long resisted FaceID, as I like the tactile feel of the Home Button, and it seems that my ability to activate it in my pocket and have it ready by the time I pull it out will be compromised, as will my ability to discreetly unlock my iPhone at a low angle. With the speculation on the new SE4 being FaceID, and TouchID on iPhones going the way of headphone jacks and 30-pin connectors, I’m wondering:

What were some of the hurdles you faced with the first FaceID phone you had? What behaviors/habits took the longest to get used to? What did you like right away? What have you come to accept? What have you grown to love?

Thanks in advance for any input you may have!
Click to expand...
Went from touch id iPhone 7 to face id iPhone 13. Never looked back, face id is way better. Wish my MBA M2 was face id.
 
I was seriously against the whole FaceID idea when moving from my iPhone8 to my XS cuz I found touch ID working great and thought I was going to miss the "home" button.
Took me less than a day to convert to FaceID and I don't miss TouchID at all.
Not sure if software or hardware has improved but I feel that the FaceID works even better on my 13Pro than on my XS, no problems using sunglasses or glasses, still recognises me.
 
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