With Apple’s iPhones that rely on Face ID for security, the pandemic has created a clunkier experience since masks create problems with facial recognition. Since most users have to enter their passcode every time they unlock their iPhones, follow along for how to change your passcode to a shorter one, skip right from Face ID to enter your passcode, and some other tips and tricks.
Google Drive has received an upgrade today that adds an extra layer of security to your files stored with the service via Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone and iPad.
Signing documents digitally is becoming more and more common and that will only increase as cities and countries around the world adapt to shelter-in-place orders. SignEasy is out today with an update that makes it the first digital signing service to support Apple’s Face ID to not only unlock the app but also to complete the signing process.
It’s tough out there, people. Thousands have been infected with the novel Coronavirus in China, millions are under lockdown, airplanes are grounded, and borders tightened. It’s like we’ve gone back to the bubonic plague — or more accurately, gone back to the iPhone 5s!
Let me explain… I know it’s not too common for people to be out and about wearing masks in public in the United States, but it’s fairly common over here in Asia. The thinking behind it is actually to prevent you, the mask-wearer, from spreading your diseased germs to other, healthy, happy people. So if you show up in Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur or Taipei or any other Asian city and begin sneezing without a mask on, there’s a good chance you’ll get a nasty side-eye from a local.
The Coronavirus, obviously, is different: doctors are recommending people wear masks to prevent coming into contact with the “novel” virus, thus keeping yourself safe. But the masks cover a huge portion of your face (even a big face, like mine) basically invalidating Face ID. I know, I know, this sounds very trivial, and it is. But trivial and annoying have long conspired together to cause great anger and frustration.
Samsung yesterday presented its Samsung Pass feature yesterday. Like Apple’s Face ID and Touch ID, this allows your face or fingerprint to log you in to things like e-banking services.
But the functionality wasn’t the only thing like Face ID: Samsung blatantly copied Apple’s icon…
San Francisco accidentally made it illegal for city employees to use iPhones with Face ID after it banned the use of face recognition technology in May. The city had to amend the law last week to make iPhones legal to use.
San Francisco isn’t the only city to have discovered this issue with bans intended to outlaw the indiscriminate use of face recognition on the street for public and corporate surveillance…
One of the biggest question marks over future iPhones is whether Apple will stick with Face ID, or instead adopt under-display Touch ID.
Apple is continuing to work on both forms of biometric security and was today awarded a patent for one approach to a fingerprint sensor which could be embedded into a display…
A 3D mask – or even a photograph of a face – was able to fool supposedly secure face recognition systems used for payments and boarding aircraft, but was unable to fool Face ID…
An Apple Watch patent granted today describes the inclusion of one or more cameras capable of photographing the user, hinting at Face ID on the Watch.
The patent also describes how sensors in a smart band could be used to analyze sports performance in such activities as football, baseball, and golf…
Face Unlock on Google’s Pixel 4 is less secure than the iPhone’s Face ID, but it does have one feature I’d like to see Apple copy: Skip Lock Screen.
Copying that would be perfectly fair, as Google has recently confirmed that it will be copying at least part of Face ID’s Require Attention feature…
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 5S 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…
At the Black Hat security conference today, researchers demonstrated a unique way to bypass Face ID authentication. The foundation of the bypass is a pair of glasses with tape on them, and the Attention Detection feature of Face ID.
We first reported on an Apple patent for Face ID on Macs back in 2017, before we knew what Apple would call the feature when it debuted in the iPhone X. That patent has today been granted.
The patent is for a more intelligent version of Face ID than is currently used on iPhones…
A new report today suggests that Apple is bringing back Touch ID to iPhones. Unlike a sketchier report last month, this one says that under-display Touch ID will not replace Face ID, but rather supplement it, with 2021 iPhones able to be unlocked using either method.
The report certainly cannot be dismissed out of hand. While analyst Ming-Chi Kuo doesn’t have a perfect track-record, he has a far better one than most. Deep dives into Apple’s supply-chain means that he often has visibility on upcoming developments…
Face ID supplier AMS, which makes optical sensor tech used in the iPhone X family of phones, says that it expects ‘a strong second half of this year.’
AMS was one of the companies to give an early clue to lower-than-expected iPhone sales in the holiday quarter, when it lowered its estimates and strongly hinted that iPhone orders were the reason …
It seems a given that Apple will bring Face ID to Macs sooner rather than later, now that the tech has been extended from iPhones to iPads too. We’ve today seen the latest in a series of Apple patent applications to do just that.
But the patent also suggests the Touch Bar could be coming to Magic Keyboards …
A new Apple patent application suggests that the company has boosted the security of Face ID in order to defeat the attack method demonstrated in 2017, when a specially-designed 3D-printed mask was able to unlock an iPhone X.
The attack was a sophisticated one, meaning that ordinary users didn’t have much to fear, but the security researchers did suggest that high-profile targets – like company CEOs – might want to avoid using Face ID …
Two Apple suppliers this morning, Lumentum and AMS, are reporting weak revenues ailed by weakening global smartphone sales, particularly hurt by the slowdown within China. The latter of the two, AMS, struggled on an earnings call predicated with a guidance revision, seeing a 58% decline in quarterly profits YoY alongside a dividend suspension.
A WhatsApp update yesterday added the option of using Face ID to protect your chats, and that’s an option I think could be usefully added to other apps – including some of Apple’s own.
One could question the value. After all, locking your phone protects all your apps, so why bother offering app-by-app protection too … ?
Popular Facebook-owned chat service WhatsApp has updated its iOS app today with support for biometric authentication, allowing users to ‘lock’ the app with Face ID or Touch ID. Although the feature does not work on a per chat basis, enabling the feature does add an extra layer of security to your private WhatsApp conversations.
Several months ago, we heard of the first known case of law enforcement requiring a suspect to unlock their phone with Face ID. Forbes reports today, however, that a California judge has ruled that, even with a warrant, the government can’t force people to unlock their devices via biometric features.
Apple supplier AMS, which provides optical sensors for face recognition features on the iPhone, today announced a new “behind OLED” light and infrared proximity sensor. As reported by Reuters, the new sensor could pave the way for completely bezel-less displays.
It can only be a matter of time before Apple adds Face ID to MacBooks, but the question is: what approach should the company take?
Apple has applied two different solutions to iPhones and iPads. For iPhones, Apple opted for super-slim bezels and a notch to house the TrueDepth cameras and other sensors. For the iPad, the company instead chose to keep the bezels thick enough to house the module.
Should it adopt the iPad solution for MacBooks, or should it copy an approach seen in one of the latest Asus laptops … ?
Apple’s television advertisements have earned three places on Adweek’s 25 Best Ads of 2018 annual list, which highlights the best media ads ranging from print to film. Apple’s highest spot ranking on the list, #2, was for its Spike Jonze directed-critically acclaimed ‘Welcome Home’ ad.
This isn’t the first time the company has seen massive celebration over the HomePod advert, with Adweek previously conducting a highly featured behind-the-scenes video.