Face ID doesn’t make everything easier
I love Face ID, the iPhone X’s flagship facial recognition feature. I got used to life without a Home button in less than an hour. Face ID is simpler to use than Touch ID, even more reliable (at least in my experience), and significantly more secure, according to Apple. But certain functions worked better with Touch ID.
Authorizing Apple Pay transactions with Face ID can be cumbersome. Double-clicking the iPhone X’s power button feels more finicky than double-clicking a Home button. And if you place your handset on the payment terminal too quickly, Face ID doesn’t have time to recognize you.
You end up holding up the line in the supermarket, with your iPhone held up in front of your face, trying to initiate Apple Pay again. Customers behind you start to lose their patience. The cashier wishes you’d just brought your wallet. No one is impressed with your iPhone X.
Confirming App Store downloads is even more annoying. With Touch ID, you simply scanned your fingerprint. With Face ID, you must double-click the power button before using facial recognition for authentication. And Apple doesn’t make that explicitly clear.
A friend called me to ask why their iPhone X was asking them to double-click when they attempted to install a new app. Other users on Twitter seem just as confused.
I understand why you need an extra step for confirmation on the iPhone X. You had a chance to cancel an accidental download with Touch ID; you could back out before scanning your fingerprint. But you can’t do that with Face ID if you’re already looking at your iPhone.
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