When Craig Federighi tried to demo the iPhone X’s new Face ID feature during Apple’s special event last week, it didn’t exactly go as planned. The iPhone X didn’t unlock, and thinking quick on his feet, Federighi quickly picked up a nearby backup device and continued on with the presentation. According to Apple, the embarrassing misstep occurred because other Apple employees were handling the device in the build-up to the presentation. As Apple explained it: “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.”
It’s a perfectly plausible explanation, but it’s only natural for some folks to wonder if Face ID will really be a superior alternative to Touch ID, which, it’s worth noting, has become incredibly reliable and quick since its debut on the iPhone 5s a few years back. For those cautiously optimistic about the new technology, MacRumors points us to remarks made by Apple executive Craig Federighi on a recent episode of John Gruber’s The Talk Show podcast. During the interview, Federighi explained that seeing Face ID in action is “pretty miraculous” while adding that “it just works.”
What’s more, Federighi explained that he can’t wait for the iPhone X users to give the feature a try.
Honestly, we’re just all counting the days until customers can get their hands on these. I think just like with Touch ID, initially people thought, ‘Apple’s done something that’s not going to work and I’m not a believer, and I’m not going to use the feature.
Now, everyone is worried because they can’t imagine their life without Touch ID, and we’re going to see exactly the same thing with Face ID.
Another point worth noting, and not really conveyed during Apple’s keynote, is that when iPhone X users swipe up to unlock their device, the Face ID authentication process will have already gone through by the time they’re done. In other words, the experience is so quick and seamless as to make it seem that there’s no security at all.
