Nine years ago, Apple made quite a stir when it first introduced Touch ID to the world. The sensor was a revolutionary piece of technology, transforming how people interacted with their iPhones. Gone were the days of keying in a passcode or living without a PIN because it was too much hassle. Instead, a simple scan of your fingerprint would unlock your device, and the whole process was so seamless that it became a subconscious action you took for granted.
The system was so reliable in terms of accuracy that it didn’t take long before most significant competitors jumped on the bandwagon and incorporated their versions into their smartphones. For the most part, most of these early fingerprint sensors were placed in the same spot where Apple’s was on the home button.
That all changed when Apple introduced the iPhone X in 2017. The full-screen display left no room for a home button, so Face ID was born. While it has its fair share of durability issues (people have had it accidentally turned off while eating or sleeping), it’s highly secure. It’s 20 times more difficult to hack into someone else’s phone with a Face ID than with a simple passcode.
And, of course, it’s also very convenient. It takes a few extra seconds to enter your passcode when you wake up or get home from work, but once you get used to it, unlocking your phone with Face ID is almost instantaneous and requires no thought.
This convenience is why Apple shows off the feature in every one of its product demos and is so proud to mention it as a selling point when promoting new iPhone models. Touch ID is excellent, but Face ID is the next level of frictionless security.
That being said, there are still a few kinks to be worked out. For example, Face ID can occasionally mistake close relatives for each other, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, while it’s not foolproof — just like Touch ID or PINs — it’s tough to trick with a homemade mask. The folks at Wired spent thousands of dollars and hours creating professional prosthetic face masks in an unsuccessful attempt to break into their phones using Face ID.
Nonetheless, the last of Apple’s smartphones to feature Touch ID may be destined for the scrap heap. Earlier this year, a report claimed that Apple was testing an in-display fingerprint reader for its upcoming iPhone 13 to offer customers the choice of Face ID or traditional passcode access. While that didn’t come to fruition, rumors have also been swirling around the idea of an in-display sensor for other future devices, such as its MacBook line and external power buttons on iMacs. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as this story develops.