As a former iPhone X and current iPhone XS Max owner; if I was given a choice of FaceID or TouchID I’d still give the edge to TouchID. While FaceID is definitely a great alternative (and apparently more secure), TouchID was still faster, more convenient, and more reliable for me.
FaceID still occasionally has issues when I stand in direct sunlight or when I’m laying in bed on my side. Not to mention nothing was faster in unlocking an iPhone than literally pressing the home button because TouchID managed to scan my fingerprint and unlock my phone in that fraction of a second.
But I’d only want TouchID on the front of the phone; I’m not a fan of rear fingerprint sensors regardless of their exact placement on the back. With my Essential phone I still often end up only placing a portion of my finger on the reader causing an error.
I know we’ll never see a TouchID only phone again because that’s not how Apple operates. But with Apple’s focus on security I could see them bringing it back (under the screen) to be used in conjunction with FaceID as a two step authentication system. And it wouldn’t surprise me if in the options they’ll let you choose between FaceID only, TouchID only, and FaceID + TouchID.
I hear you. Maybe try re-training FaceID again to learn your facial features? I was really surprised that in a dark room, laying on my side, with a blanket covering half my head that FaceID could recognize me. Maybe I was just lucky in the first scan. I know with TouchID I had to add the same fingerprint twice to get to a place where 90% of the time it accepted my print. With only 1 scan FaceID recognizes me almost in any situation unless I'm wearing sunglasses.