On Sep 6, 2019, at 6:51 PM, M. Taylor <mk...@ucla.edu> wrote:
Hello All,
As I am one of those insane people who is waiting for Apple to
re-introduce Touch-ID back into the iPhone, before purchasing a new
model, I found the following article interesting.
Mark.
In-screen Touch ID potentially signals a backward step ahead By Ben
Lovejoy
In-screen Touch ID could be appearing in iPhones as early as next
year, according to a new report today. But while the current report
suggests that both Touch ID and Face ID fans will be catered for, that
may not remain the case for long.
The debate between the respective fans of Touch ID and Face ID began
when Apple launched the iPhone X, the first iPhone to be launched
without the fingerprint reader since it made its debut on the iPhone 5 S
in 2013.
With the iPhone X launch, Apple seemed pretty clear that Face ID was
the future of iPhone authentication. It is, says Apple, faster,
easier, and more secure than Touch ID.
Face ID reinvented the way we unlock, log in, and pay. Some of our
most sophisticated technologies - the TrueDepth camera system, the
Secure Enclave and the Neural Engine - make it the most secure facial
authentication ever in a smart-phone. And even faster and easier to use.
Close family members aside, Apple says that Face ID is 20 times more
secure than Touch ID.
Every fingerprint is unique, so it's rare that even a small section of
two separate fingerprints are alike enough to register as a match for
Touch ID.
The probability of this happening is 1 in 50,000 with a single,
enrolled finger.
The probability that a random person in the population could look at
your iPhone or iPad Pro and unlock it using Face ID is approximately 1
in 1 million with a single enrolled appearance.
Most owners of iPhone X/XS and latest iPad Pro devices say they would
never go back. That's certainly true for me.
But while that appears to be the consensus view, it's not a universal
one.
There are owners of Face ID devices who say they find it less reliable
than Touch ID, and there are owners of Touch ID devices who claim they
won't upgrade until Touch ID is available on newer devices.
Today's report says that Apple is aiming to please all of the people
all of the time, with plans to offer both forms of biometric
authentication in future iPhones, starting in either 2020 or 2021.
In-screen Touch ID would enable Apple to bring back Touch ID without the
need for a Home button.
Apple is apparently readying a new under-display integrated Touch ID
fingerprint sensor "as early as its 2020 iPhones" next fall, according
to a report today from Bloomberg. The report says it would be an
addition to the existing Face ID authentication and unlock system,
allowing users to authenticate with either fingerprint or face
biometrics [.]
Offering both Touch ID and Face ID would increase overall convenience
and speed of unlocking the iPhone. A user would register their
fingerprints and facial signature, and the phone can unlock as soon as
either recognition succeeds. This means Touch ID can make up for Face
ID's weaknesses, and vice versa.
The problem may come in the future, however. Once In-screen Touch ID
proves reliable, the temptation for Apple to lose the notch by
dropping Face ID may prove irresistible.
Losing the notch, to effectively give an all-screen design, would
create a similar wow factor to that of the iPhone X when it launched.
Jony Ive may have bowed out, but his "single slab of glass" vision for
the iPhone likely lives on within the design team.
Apple already has form for prioritizing form over function in this
way. The company has long aimed to make iPhones as slim as possible,
even though many of us would prefer a slightly thicker phone with
better battery life and no camera bump.
Could Apple do both, and embed Face ID tech beneath the display too?
Long-term, anything is possible. One Android manufacturer has already
demonstrated an under-screen camera. But that's just a proof of
concept at this stage, and Apple would also need to embed the IR
emitter and dot projector too before we could have under-display Face
ID. That's not something that's going to happen anytime soon.
There is, then, a risk that Apple will at some point prioritize design
over performance by dropping Face ID in favor of the clean look of an
iPhone that offers only embedded Touch ID. That, to me, would be a huge
shame.
I love Face ID. The beauty of it is that you get strong authentication
that is almost invisible. I pick up my phone, and it's unlocked. I
open my banking app, and a second or so later, I'm looking at my bank
balance. They say the best user interfaces are invisible, and that to
me is very nearly true of Face ID. Having to touch a finger to a
device now feels clunky in comparison.
If Apple supplements Face ID with embedded Touch ID, I'm all in favor.
But if it later drops Face ID to get a sleeker design - as I fear it
might - that would to me be a backward step. I hope I'm wrong.
What's your view? Would you be willing to sacrifice Face ID to lose
the notch? Please take our poll and let us know your thoughts in the
comments.
Original Article at:
https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/05/in-screen-touch-id/
--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone
list.
If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or
if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the
owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.
Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at:
mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at
caraqu...@caraquinn.com
The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/000001d56516%246586b2f0%24309418d0%24%40edu.
