Recently, we have become accustomed to believing that Face ID on the iPhone is the best and safest system for protecting a smartphone. That’s the way it is — in years, Android device manufacturers haven’t learned how to do any similar facial recognition technology, but it’s not all that straightforward. If you directly choose between Face ID on the iPhone and fingerprint, coupled with face-scanning on Android, I would choose the latter. To a person who has never used Apple technology, this may seem like childish babble, but the reasons are more than substantial.
Face unlock on Android is better than Face ID. Now we will prove it to you.
Disadvantages of Face ID
Many owners of Android smartphones may think that Face ID is an ideal technology that all manufacturers of mobile equipment should strive for. To be convinced of the opposite, it is enough just to ask any Apple about the disadvantages of Face ID. I assure you, the list of shortcomings will be very impressive. I’ve been using the iPhone 11 as my primary phone for a while and I’m so glad I got rid of it.
Using an iPhone in a mask is very inconvenient. Android with a fingerprint in such situations saved.
Here are just the main drawbacks of Face ID that I managed to find in a couple of months of use:
- Random purchases in the app store and on websites.
- After unlocking Face ID, you have to swipe. On Android, you can use a fingerprint.
- Face ID is inconvenient to use in a mask.
- On the iPhone, it is inconvenient to watch videos in horizontal orientation.
- Bangs in the iPhone look disgusting.
The first, and the most important minus is random purchases. Our colleagues constantly talk about messages like Charged money for an Apple subscription, what to do? The bottom line is that when buying applications in the App Store on the iPhone, people often press the wrong button, then in a panic they press the lock screen button and the purchase is automatically paid.
Second, Face ID is a long time. Every time I unlocked my iPhone, I had to swipe to start using the phone. Again, extremely uncomfortable. On Android, everything is simple: I clicked on the scanner, and the menu opened. On the iPhone, body movements have to be done a little more: while I took the phone, pressed the power button, waited for the reading, made a swipe and only then got into the phone itself.
Otherwise, everything is subjective. In the mask, the iPhone 11 was inconvenient to use, on the iPhone 12 and newer models, Apple has already solved this issue programmatically. Plus, I like watching videos on Android phones better. No circumcised edges for you because of bangs and other imperfections. Well, about the aesthetics of bangs, I am generally silent, then let everyone decide for himself.
Face ID Security
In fairness, I must say that at the moment Face ID is the safest way to unlock the phone. Apple managed to achieve this result due to the volumetric-spatial face scanner.
Its advantage is that it scans a three-dimensional image rather than a flat drawing. This can be achieved thanks to a special projector that can analyze more than 30k infrared points and a special camera that reads the resulting image.
Using Face ID is safe. But the face scanner on Android is doubtful.
All these newfangled sensors and complex mechanisms inside the iPhone allow it to easily determine where a real person is and where the picture is. In Android smartphones, everything is much simpler. There, unlocking is carried out exclusively due to IR sensors inside the camera itself.
And software algorithms are responsible for the difference between a person and a flat picture, which makes it impossible to pay for purchases using a scanner or perform other important procedures. Therefore, you can not talk about the face scanner on Android, as a separate unit. The scanner should always be considered together with the fingerprint. And then these devices will play with new colours.
Moreover, on many Android smartphones, for example, Xiaomi, the manufacturer itself warns that the face scanning technology is unsafe and, when it comes to confidential data, it is better to use a fingerprint scanner or a classic PIN.
Xiaomi warns that using a PIN code or fingerprint is safer than a face scanner.
Fingerprint scanner repair
Anyway, in terms of repair in Android devices, everything is much simpler. Literally, in every service center they can change fingerprint scanners and cameras on all popular models. No, there may be problems with the repair of budget Chinese devices, but with some Xiaomi or OnePlus, everything should be more than good.
In general, for a long time, Apple in principle refused to allow users to repair Face ID. If suddenly water got into the iPhone or Face ID stopped working after the phone falls, then that’s it. Either buy a new phone or walk around with a brick. Android smartphones in this sense are much cooler.
Repairing Face ID will cost more than repairing scanners on Android.
Just recently, Cupertino announced a self-repair program, according to which each user can order the necessary components from Apple and repair his device on his own. In theory, the problem with a non-working Face ID should be solved, but given the sanctions and supply restrictions, I would not think so optimistically.
Which way to unlock is better
However, for me, it does not seem that safer is better. I must say a little differently: more convenient means better. And here Android phones win. Think about it! Every time you need to unlock the smartphone, you just need to put your finger on it. If you need to pay for purchases or open a password manager, there is a fingerprint. Well, if you want a face scanner, it is always with you. But not as the main feature, but only in addition to the print.
Completely abandoning the fingerprint scanners is still not worth it. It’s better to have both.
The whole trouble with the iPhone is that the user is not given any choice. All you have is a face scanner and nothing more. Well, if you want to unlock the phone or pay for purchases through a PIN code, you will have to wait until the scanner recognizes you and only then enter the necessary numbers.
What do you think? Have you ever used an iPhone? Which unlock system do you like best? Give feedback in our Telegram chat or the comments below, it will be interesting to read.