Ondrej Holzman In connection with the new iPhone, nothing else is being talked about now, other than how it will be unlocked. If we will continue to use the fingerprint, where will we attach it, or if by chance Touch ID will not completely disappear and be replaced by another security technology. The departure of the fingerprint sensor might not be as dramatic as it might seem after all. However, there are a few but by...
Introduced in 2013 with the iPhone 5S, Touch ID quickly became the standard for unlocking mobile devices with a fingerprint. Apple was able to fine-tune the technology, which until then worked very awkwardly on many products, to perfection - here we are already talking about the second generation of Touch ID from 2015.
Unlocking with the touch of a finger is now so fast that Apple even had to remodel the entire iOS unlocking process so that the user could, for example, view incoming notifications. That's why many people now shake their heads in incomprehension when they hear that they would Apple could remove Touch ID on its phone.
A necessary sacrifice perhaps
If Touch ID does not actually appear in the new iPhone, there will probably be one main reason. Apparently, Apple will follow the example of the competition with a giant display practically across the entire front of the phone, where the button or fingerprint sensor will no longer fit.
In such a case, two variants are most often mentioned - to move the technology several levels further and get it under the display, or move Touch ID to the back. The second option was chosen by Samsung when it placed the fingerprint reader from front to back on its Galaxy S8 phone, which came with a large edge-to-edge display. The South Korean giant tried to get the sensor under the display, but failed.
Apple had about half a year more to develop, but according to many reports, even it did not manage to fine-tune the technology enough to make Touch ID under the display as reliable as it is now. And that is, of course, a problem for such a fundamental and, moreover, safety function.
But instead of Apple moving the button back in such a case, it might come up with a completely different solution. On the one hand, he may not like Touch ID on the back, on the other hand, he can follow technological progress by replacing it.
Progress that doesn't look like that at first glance
About the possible deployment of Face ID, as 3D face scanning has come to be known, instead of Touch ID he wrote Rene Ritchie for iMore following:
Another way to reliably perform authentication is by scanning your face. But not the dubious 2D scanning that has been deployed in other phones so far, but a 3D scanning that can use more points for identification than fingerprints can provide, and in milliseconds do what Touch ID has done with touch.
It's a really tough thing to do, but then again, fingerprint sensors were also embarrassing before the arrival of Touch ID. It often takes a company with the resources, vision and integration like Apple to move just such a solution forward.
It is the reliability of Face ID that would be absolutely key. If a face scan were to be used for authentication, it is absolutely essential to ensure that the technology can handle direct sunlight and very low light conditions. These are the cases where Touch ID doesn't have the slightest problem, but where current cameras often falter.
The expected 3D technology that Apple is supposed to build into the front camera of the new iPhone will certainly be more advanced, but it would still have to be a major step forward. At least similar to what Touch ID demonstrated years ago. On the other hand, Face ID would solve situations when your hands are wet, sweaty or dirty or you have gloves on them.
Given how Touch ID currently works and how important a feature it is, it would be a definite step backwards if its potential replacement - Face ID - didn't work at least as reliably. It is certain that Apple has been testing something similar for a long time and it is hardly conceivable that it would be willing to degrade the function in appearance, but certain doubts remain.
If Tim Cook comes forward in September and shows us a new and perfectly working security technology, we'll all take off our hats, but until then, it's sure to be a matter of speculation as to how the engineers at Apple will finally solve this conundrum.
And one more note, or rather a final question. No less important would be how, for example, bank applications and others that used a fingerprint for locking would cope with the transition from Touch ID to Face ID. For example, if Face ID didn't automatically start working (which has many security dilemmas for stakeholders), it could reduce user convenience.
This method of unlocking is very inconvenient. I already had the privilege of trying it on the Lumia 950 XL and unfortunately – having to look into the camera from a certain distance is very limiting, e.g. with the phone on a table or in a holder in the car.
Touch ID on the front is simply still the best solution.
That's right, there are many situations where this is a problem. E.g. the phone on the bedside table, or just placed on the table within easy reach. Now I just put my finger and I can see, albeit from an angle.
"Apple was able to fine-tune the technology, which until then worked very awkwardly on many products"
It is hard to agree with that. Apple moved it, but I imagine perfection differently. Touch ID works quickly and at first glance it is possible somewhere in peace in bed, as soon as I am active in the daily routine (= I am not sitting in the office), I am working in the field, I drive here and there, so I see "try again" constantly and in the end very often I also enter the code, because even slightly damp or sweaty hands are still a huge problem. And on these hot days I would have to walk naked so I wouldn't sweat.
Even a service like Apple Pay would have to be dug from the ground up. I assume that banks and companies accepting Apple Pay had conditions regarding security. The support for Touch ID in the new MB Pro clearly shows that Apple has big plans for this feature, and I'm pretty sure that Touch ID will be with us for many years to come. Even at the price of a later release of new iPhones. I think even for Apple, the path of least resistance is to release the iPhone later rather than lose perhaps the most popular feature of the iPhone.
And from a liker's point of view, I have to say that face scanning doesn't seem extra secure either. V Your face has a familiar voice, will they do anything to anyone based on a couple of photos and videos?
When it comes to security, the fingerprint scan can unfortunately shake hands with the face scan. Touch ID is also not particularly secure (even if the general public usually thinks that the fingerprint is very secure, perhaps under the influence of crime novels and sci-fi movies).
I think that a number of experts and hackers here have already proven the complete opposite of what you claim. And you can't do anything about it - you won't be a bigger expert anymore. :D
The expert's advice proved that you can make a good day out of any fingerprint, you don't even need a real finger. But the number of discussion experts with arguments is always endless :)
I think banks don't care what technology is used to get the information "yes, it's this client". It doesn't matter if you unlocked by entering the code manually, via Touch ID, or Face ID. Just the phone or the chip, after processing the security technology built into it, announces, "yes, it's this client", and the bank executes the transaction. I emphasize the "I think". Maybe it's different...
For example, in the winter with a hat and scarf, Face ID will be unusable. Similar to Touch ID in gloves. Then what is the lesser evil. Remove cap or glove? You will still need to remove the glove to continue operating the phone. So Face ID loses. If Apple were to put Face ID on the iPhone, I don't think it would necessarily mean the abolition of Touch ID. Both technologies can be in the phone. Speculation, speculation! ?
You don't have a cap on your face.
Isn't that gentleman an Arab woman? ;)
Is the Arab woman Muslim, Christian or Atheist? ?
By the way, a rather strange question: "is the gentleman...a woman", did you come up with that yourself? ?
Nail on the head.
How will Face ID work for Muslim women in burkas and robes? After all, Apple wouldn't be able to discriminate against anyone...!
An Arab woman is our Czech :D Nothing about what words and images influenced her in her youth. That doesn't matter.
But I'm curious about the nail on the head. That would probably have to be purely a matter of recognition only by the eyes.. Because maybe even the pictures in the touchbar already count on something like burkas and masked men (of different faiths and purposes), right?
You can't even see the eyes in the burqa, dude.
Oops…so much like this?! I didn't even know that. And so I'm very curious how this will go through the fight against discrimination that you write about... and which I hope Apple really doesn't have.
Aren't the forehead and chin part of the face??
Sophomore; in the winter on a snowboard you can't even see me through my glasses and clothes. Sometimes not even the nose. What's so special about it? ?
Well, it wasn't written first. It's about glasses and snowboarding. Although there is talk that maybe it works even through glasses, right?
Yeah, you're a thinker too, huh? Nail the rag.
Okay. So I'll try not to write to you when I'm not enjoying you, well...
In winter, one also wears gloves. So not even TouchID here ;)
Dude, Robin, before you comment, read the whole thing. Or at least to the second sentence...?
In my opinion, Apple can put both there, they don't dare throw out Touch ID. I would understand the Face ID file on a desktop or laptop. They will learn it from them.
What about at night?
Won't it go crazy with the photo?
Addicted to staring at the front camera … not a feature I would appreciate :-((((
There is no problem at night, an infrared diode and a camera will be added.
Staring at the camera = problem.
The photo is a 2D scan, not a 3S - that's why it's being talked about. Of course, the photo will not give the 3D effect :)
I just wonder if they use some kind of orthosis for their abdominal muscles at Apple, how they must be in excruciating pain from laughing at such speculations.
Apple will no longer surprise with anything - they have improved the design of iOS, OS X, Numbers, Pages, iTunes, Xcode, their own website, developer portal, they do not offer matte displays, ... They are also quietly throwing out Touch ID from the iPhone...
You forgot the gold thin font on the white background! ?
Ah... It's you, Mr. Tomáš Čech, who would like to have Xcode on the iPad... Good luck...
And above all, they don't have a matte display for 5K displays!!!! ?