Face ID technology is a new feature on the Apple iPhone X that’s created quite a buzz. This clever innovation analyzes the user’s face for phone security and secure payments. Though Face ID provides some convenience and is interesting today, the future has lots in store for this feature as well. Here’s a closer look at why this is a game-changing technology.
Compatibility With Apple Pay
Consumers can use their smartphones, as they always have, to authenticate purchases via Apple Pay. But Face ID has replaced the thumbprint scanner required on older devices and uses facial recognition instead. After setting up Face ID on their new iPhones, users can look into the camera to finalize Apple Pay purchases. Here’s a guide about how and where to sell your macbook air and other devices.
Seamless Sign In
A significant benefit of Face ID is that you no longer have to type in your Apple ID whenever you want to open an app on your phone. Instead, you can use the X’s facial recognition tech to sign into apps and purchase from the app store. This is just one way Apple has streamlined functionality on the X. Facial recognition, combined with an iPhone X running on a reliable network like T-Mobile’s 4G LTE, delivers unprecedented speed and extremely convenient usability.
Compatibility With Other Third-Party Applications
In addition to signing into apps, third-party developers will use the tech in practical and fun ways. For example, since the TrueDepth camera system projects dots over the user’s face like motion capture technology, Face ID could be handy for visual effects artists and animators.
Many other industries may benefit from this technology. Face ID could notice signs of aging or tiredness over time, for example, and recommend ways to be healthy. The ability to recognize “Yes” and “No” shakes of the head could make completing surveys much easier, and developers could even use expressions (such as raising an eyebrow or looking left or right) to navigate a website or application.
Animojis
This tech isn’t just about practicality. Face ID is literally game-changing in that it will introduce new ways for you to play and have fun on your device. For example, iPhone X users can create custom animated characters — called “Animojis” — through the Messages app. After selecting an Animoji character, users can record short videos (up to 10 seconds) and send them through a text message. Though this is goofy and fun, it shows off Face ID’s ability to recognize nuanced expressions.
Growing Alongside You
You’ll be finished calibrating Face ID after your initial setup, but the tech doesn’t stop working at that point. Face ID will continue collecting data about your facial structure to ensure you can log in whether you are smiling or frowning, are growing a mustache, or just got a haircut. After learning a bit about your face, the tech will even work if you wear a scarf, hat, or glasses — certainly a plus on windy days. Face ID even updates as you age, guaranteeing that you won’t have to recalibrate the system down the road.
Biometric Security
Biometric security is one of the most critical applications of this technology. Essentially, biometric security aims to replace security measures, like passwords, with human characteristics unique to the user.
We’ve seen this in the past with thumbprint scanners on older iPhone models, but Face ID is a much more secure system. We’ve also seen how this security extends to other apps on your phone. But biometric security could also be applied to a smart home or car, for example, where a person could gain access with Face ID instead of a key. Once widely adopted, this technology promises to revolutionize modern security.
Apple is doubling down on this tech, having recently acquired a company that produces the laser technology powering Face ID authentication. Apple is also looking to add this feature on all its next-generation iPhones and to an iPad tablet slated for release in 2019. Face ID is interesting now, and the future promises a lot more functionality, convenience, and security thanks to this innovation.
