What Really Happened with Apple’s Face ID “Fail” Onstage

Megalith

Megalith

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During the world premiere of the device’s lauded Face ID biometric security system, it took Craig Federighi three times to get Face ID to unlock his demo phone. But don’t worry, Apple says. That’s supposed to happen.

Tonight, I was able to contact Apple. After examining the logs of the demo iPhone X, they now know exactly what went down. Turns out my first theory in this story was wrong—but my first UPDATE theory above was correct: “People were handling the device for stage demo ahead of time,” says a rep, “and didn’t realize Face ID was trying to authenticate their face. After failing a number of times, because they weren’t Craig, the iPhone did what it was designed to do, which was to require his passcode.” In other words, “Face ID worked as it was designed to.”
 
Ugh - having people around my phone with Touch ID doesn't cause this to happen. My finger being moist will cause it to fail, but a quick wipe and it will then work. About the only time I have to enter my passcode with Touch ID is when the phone reboots or sits idle for a long period of time. I suspect with Face ID it will happen a lot more frequently which is a regression as far as I'm concerned.

As I suspected, it looks like Face ID will be a mixed bag. Hopefully it stays exclusive to the higher end iPhone :p
 
Lol so if I don't shave, or style my hair differently...it won't work....lol how priceless.
 
I use my phone a lot at night while in bed like I expect a lot of people do...I imagine it's not going to work very well in the dark lol.

Like being able to unlock with my fingerprint...this facial recognition is a poorly thought out "feature".
 
conscript said:
I use my phone a lot at night while in bed like I expect a lot of people do...I imagine it's not going to work very well in the dark lol.

Like being able to unlock with my fingerprint...this facial recognition is a poorly thought out "feature".
Click to expand...

In theory, it has an IR camera that should allow it to work just as well in the dark. In practice, we'll have to wait and see how it really works.
 
natos said:
Lol so if I don't shave, or style my hair differently...it won't work....lol how priceless.
Click to expand...

They said specifically in the keynote that it ~should~ continue to work, and that it uses some learning algorithm that can adjust to differences. Haircuts, beards, glasses, etc shouldn't affect it. I don't know how it will work in practice....
 
If they ADDED FaceID to the mix with the fingerprint scanner, this would be great. Some people would like it and use it all the time, others would stick with the tried-and-true fingerprint scanner.

I get the feeling that was the plan originally, and they were going to have the fingerprint scanner under the screen. After that idea went tits-up due to technical limitations, they had to fall back to ONLY FaceID, since otherwise they'd have to completely redesign the phone to add the scanner back in somewhere else.
 
natos said:
Lol so if I don't shave, or style my hair differently...it won't work....lol how priceless.
Click to expand...

The entire presentation on FaceID mentions that neither of those things should affect it's functionality.

We'll see how well it does once people actually have the device in their hands though.
 
Also, you don't use Touch ID or Face ID because it's more secure than a passcode. Biometrics never entirely replaced passcodes on iOS, you always have the option to just use a passcode. You use the Biometrics because it's a more convenient security option, and better than no security.

If that convenience is lost, and Face ID sucks, it won't get used, but there's still passcode to fall back on.

I agree with Bandalo though, I don't like seeing TouchID go away entirely -- I think FaceID would work a lot better in conjunction with TouchID. Setting up an either/or for convenience - or both simultaneously for additional security.
 
Bandalo said:
If they ADDED FaceID to the mix with the fingerprint scanner, this would be great. Some people would like it and use it all the time, others would stick with the tried-and-true fingerprint scanner.

I get the feeling that was the plan originally, and they were going to have the fingerprint scanner under the screen. After that idea went tits-up due to technical limitations, they had to fall back to ONLY FaceID, since otherwise they'd have to completely redesign the phone to add the scanner back in somewhere else.
Click to expand...

yeah, what happened to the rumours of it having a touch-id sensor built into the screen? they could even put it on the back like some android phones do..
 
admiralperpetual said:
yeah, what happened to the rumours of it having a touch-id sensor built into the screen? they could even put it on the back like some android phones do..
Click to expand...

Well, no one has that working yet AFAIK. It's a nice idea, but I think it'll take a while before it actually rolls out.

I saw some "leaks" with the TouchID sensor on the back of the phone, but I'm guessing that would make the glass back and the wireless charging harder. A redesign of that level that soon before release would probably end up pushing back the release date.
 
I was watching live and it did not seem like a fail at all. Someone just didn't configure it correctly. Given there is a passcode required for Face ID, which means here is a way to get in with just the passcode, should give you more confidence to use it.
 
Here are the points it uses from an earlier patent filed by apple.
When you see youtubers FUDing about 'it can work through masks' laugh at the fucktards and go about your business.
No the IR camera cannot penetrate a rubber/full face mask. But if enough points are showing, it can potentially get a match.
This is the same stuff the perve agencies use to track you.
facial recognition points.jpg
 
conscript said:
I use my phone a lot at night while in bed like I expect a lot of people do...I imagine it's not going to work very well in the dark lol.

Like being able to unlock with my fingerprint...this facial recognition is a poorly thought out "feature".
Click to expand...

I have a recently purchased laptop that has a camera setup designed to use facial recognition. It has IR cameras for teh dark and stereoscopic illumination to ensure you aren't a picture. It is less advanced than the Apple face ID, which based on what's in it is probably closer to a kinect camera thingy than my laptop. If my less advanced setup works fine in the dark. I don't see why this wouldn't. And yes, it works fine in the dark.


Brian_B said:
They said specifically in the keynote that it ~should~ continue to work, and that it uses some learning algorithm that can adjust to differences. Haircuts, beards, glasses, etc shouldn't affect it. I don't know how it will work in practice....
Click to expand...

It's likely going to come down to "is it obscuring too much of your face". Hair style wise, if you have short hair, this will likely never come up. AS noted, currently using a reasonably robust, but not as fancy setup as the iphone X, I have no issues in the dark. I also have no issues with glasses on or off. (although, I don't wear thick frames).

I think the real issues this incident brings up is how easily is it going to try to scan erroneous faces and tag it as a failure. The other thing that may be an issue is hats and sunglasses. When I'm working on my laptop, odds are I'm indoors. The phone goes everywhere. If you are wearing you usual outdoor getup and it includes a hat and sunglasses, that's like half of the facial recognition points going poof.
 
"...it is as easy as ..."

"And here we are, and you see this expensive ..."
 
rofl to all the people in the first thread calling non-apple users "stupid" because apple users know after "a certain time", iphones always ask for your passcode. Well, it wasn't quite that now was it, who is the stupid?
 
Ok so, the phone just attempts to authenticate any good ol face that touched it? Or was some just trying to open it actively?
 
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