When the iPhone X was announced as the anniversary iPhone on September 12 at the Steve Jobs theatre in Apple’s new campus in Cupertino, California, the Face ID unlock technology was unarguably the most exciting feature of the device. The full view (bezeless) display, the absence of the home button and $1000 price tag followed keenly. By the way, the device will sell for less than $1000 in 2018. Cool, right?
I personally haven’t tried the Face ID feature on the iPhone X (I haven’t even held one. Ugh!??) but the expectancy of the device release by many users so they could play around the feature was immeasurable. Likewise, the subsequent powertrip that ensued from finally trying it out.
There are so many reviews on the Face ID. In fact, too many! Some reviews painted the feature as perfect and flawless (even when the creator, Apple says it isn’t) while some pointed out the basic expected flaw of the system. Certain reviews went more experimental and posed the iPhone X’s Face ID to some (conscience and accidental) challenges and BOOM!, many more faults of the Face ID began to surface!
Nothing can ever be perfect I guess.
Below are instances when the Face ID refused to fulfil its purpose on the iPhone X.
See the iPhone X Face ID fail in the 5 experiments below.
1. When the iPhone X grants your child entry into your phone…
Yeah, you read that right. If you are a parent, and you have an offspring not older than 13, and he/she pretty much looks like you (to a reasonable extent), differentiating you from your child could be a herculean task for the iPhone X – so it’s just gonna grant you both access ?
The video below is an instance where a mother shows her iPhone X being unlocked by her 10-year old son.
Watched the video? Yeah? Good.
It isn’t in anyway sorcery. Likewise, the child isn’t Merlin’s kid brother or Gandalf’s grandchild. The thing is – kids still very much share similar shape properties with their parents which only begins to become distinctive as the child age.
2. Unlock failure due to face mask
While Apple mentioned in the November 2017 Face ID Security Guide that functionality of the iPhone X’s Face ID isn’t in any way impaired by facial alteration like growth or removal of beards and accessories, it failed to highlight that covering the face with something as light as your Facial mask could render the efficiency of the Face ID redundant.
Attached below is a video of the iPhone X being put up to a Face Mask (Charcoal Face Mask) challenge. Now watch the Face ID fail.
3. Facial Recognition? Or Twin Recognition?
“Can Twin unlock the iPhone” was basically the first controversy that first popped up when the feature was announced by Apple.
Well, they can. Apple knows, but there seems to be nothing the “Big A” can do about it..at least for now. The video embedded below shows a “not-so-identical” set of twins unlock one iPhone X with their individual faces even though the Face ID allows only one face during setup.
Face ID?…or Twin ID??
4. Underwater Unlock?
You probably do not know but the iPhone X is certified Ingress Protection 67 (IP67) which makes it resistant to water of 1m depth for up to 30 minutes.
But while it is fun that you can use the iPhone X in the shower, take it swimming or even decide to give it a bath, the Face ID doesn’t unlock under water. The video evidence below attributes the underwater failure of the Face ID to the camera (which found it difficult capturing the face in water), the fact still remains that the iPhone X Face ID doesn’t work underwater.
5. Sleeping? Unconscious? The Face ID will fail you!
Let’s face it, if no one else knows your smartphone password or passcode, gaining access to information on your device will be a tad bit difficult. Sadly, the reverse is the case for the fingerprint..and Face ID. But if you aren’t a heavy/deep sleeper, raising your fingers to unlock your phone while asleep should wake you up.
Watch a sleeping person’s iPhone X get unlocked by his friends while he was asleep.
Just when we thought (for a second) that Facial Recognition was the next big thing in smartphone security, the above circumstances nullifies such thoughts and put the Face ID at the bottom of genuine smartphone security options.
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