Face ID
If there are 5 failed attempts to Face ID, it will default back to passcode. (Federighi has confirmed that this is what happened in the demo onstage when he was asked for a passcode — it tried to read the people setting the phones up on the podium.)
Developers do not have access to raw sensor data from the Face ID array. Instead, they’re given a depth map they can use for applications like the Snap face filters shown onstage. This can also be used in ARKit applications.
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Face ID requires that it be able to see your eyes, nose and mouth. This means there are scenarios where it just won’t work.
“If you’re a surgeon or someone who wears a garment that covers your face, it’s not going to work,” says Federighi. “But if you’re wearing a helmet or scarf, it works quite well.”
I think my favorite part was the disclosure that if you pick up your iPhone X and swipe from the bottom to the home screen, the iPhone will start the animation while it is simultaneously verifying your face and unlocking the device. There shouldn’t be any delay, which is exactly the behavior I would expect.
Before this, I was concerned that you would have to unlock before swiping into your home screen, which would drive me nuts every time I turn the phone on.
I am confident that Apple is not collecting a photo database, but not optimistic that it can’t be hacked with fake faces.
There’s literally a saying that’s "one in a million" which symbolises the extremely remote likelihood of something happening! The 20x figure over Touch ID is significant but it doesn’t seem like the right number to be focusing on. The right number would be the one that illustrates not the likelihood of random people gaining access, but rather the likelihood of an adversary tricking the biometrics via artificial means such as the gummi bears and PCBs. But that’s not the sort of thing we’re going to know until people start attempting just that.
See also: The Talk Show.
Previously: iPhone X.
Update (2017-09-20): Jeff Nouwen:
Federighi: “But if you’re wearing a … scarf, it works quite well.” Might be my Great White North bias, but wearing a scarf means this[…]
Update (2017-09-28): See also: Apple’s Face ID Security Guide (Hacker News).
