Twitter users are worrying that the face-recognition system in the new iPhone X won’t recognize them without make-up, if they change their hairstyle or have just had a few drinks …
Update: While some suggested this might just be a demo mode thing, that approves anything vaguely resembling a face, CNET confirmed on its review unit that the device is indeed fooled by photos.
We tried it on our own Note 8, and sure enough, it’s still possible to fool it with a flat photo. A Samsung rep tells CNET that the company’s guidance remains the same: You’ll want to use the fingerprint sensor or iris scanner for security, and should view facial recognition as a convenient alternative to the simple swipe-to-unlock gesture.
While Apple’s detractors often criticise Apple for hyping features already seen in competitor devices, the Cupertino company doesn’t just follow the market. In particular, it tends to assess which features do and don’t make sense, and then aim to make the best possible version of the ones that do.
The sense of this approach appears to have again been illustrated by not just one but two Samsung devices …
A Korean report on the Samsung-made OLED display for the iPhone 8 claims that the speed of the facial-recognition system used in the device will be measured in ‘millionths of a second.’
All the latest reports are pointing to Apple abandoning TouchID in the new flagship phone, replacing it with face recognition for both unlock and Apple Pay authorization. Though concerns have been expressed about this, it appears that Apple may have successfully addressed them …
Not too long after the first rumors surfaced, Apple has given its usual non-confirmation that it has acquired Faceshift, the company behind the technology Star Wars used to animate the faces of CGI characters. It’s not an obvious fit for Apple, so what could be the thinking behind the purchase?
Like Apple’s patents, it is sometimes easy, I think, to read too much into some of the company’s acquisitions. Sure, it doesn’t go around acquiring companies randomly, but it may not always be after the complete package. It may well be that there is some small element of the company’s technology that Apple wants, or it may be an acquihire – where it’s the engineers rather than the specific tech the company wants.
But in this particular case, there is reason to suspect that Apple does have an interest in the broad brush-strokes of what Faceshift does …
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