To begin with, unlocking smartphones with one’s face isn’t a new concept which Lumia and Samsung have been offering for years. Neither was fingerprint sensor a new concept, but when Apple introduced TouchID on its phones, it turned out to be much better than everything else in the market. The fact is, Apple has never been an inventor but has exceptional skills at refining technologies and churning out superior products.
Now that it’s official about iPhone X ditching the much-beloved TouchID, it begs a very important question- will FaceID be able to fill the gap? And more importantly, what would it take for the FaceID to ensure that users never miss that good old fingerprint sensor?
Face ID vs Touch ID
Statistically, the FaceID with its 1-in-a-million chance of being unlocked by someone else is projected to be much more secure than TouchID that stood a chance of 1-in-50,000. Even if you concede to this fact, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the new technology will be equally seamless and easy-to-use. Here are the three key aspects that FaceID must triumph over if it has to achieve the same level of acceptance:
#1. Ease of Usage
With TouchID, if you are pulling your phone out of your pocket, it is unlocked by the time you face the screen. If it is lying on a surface like a table, you can unlock it without even picking it up. It is this level of convenience that the FaceID needs to match, if not beat. Be it in the dark, any orientation, or even smudges on the face, it needs to work perfectly in all conditions.
#2. It Needs to be Fast and Consistently Fast
Optimally, it must take less than a second to recognize and unlock the phone. Since the users need to look at the phone, longer periods will get frustrating. Also, the performance needs to consistent across every usage in all conditions because with such a premium device at, there is no room of hit and miss.
#3. Seamless Integration with Apple Pay
Apple Pay already was having a tough time catching on. But now with the change in authentication method, its fortune will be largely determined by how well FaceID integrates with it. Because if it fails at first attempt, there is nothing that’ll stop users from pulling out their credit cards.
