Some people wondered what would they do if a thief steals their $999 iPhone X, points it to their face and runs?
Well what do you think? Would your data be safe then?
The new iPhone X, launched on September 12, 2017 on Apple iPhone 10 year anniversary, is seen as the “future of smartphones”. One of the most talked about feature of this iPhone X (pronounced as iPhone 10) is its Face ID, which uses a combination of infrared emitter and sensor (TrueDepth) to paint 30,000 points of infrared light on and around your face. The reflection is measured, which allows it to calculate depth and angle from the camera for each dot and recognizes facial features.
Keith Krimbel, a freelance video editor, recently came up with the a query about the safety of this feature and decided to email Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi. To his surprise he received a reply from Craig who told him how to deal with theft situations.
In the email, Keith asked Craig “What will prevent a thief from taking my phone, pointing it at my face, and running?”
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The following was Federighi’s response:
“There are two mitigations: If you don’t stare at the phone, it won’t unlock. Also, if you grip the buttons on both sides of the phone when you hand it over, it will temporarily disable FaceID.”
Here is the complete email response:
E-mailed #CraigFederighi about #FaceID and actually got a response! pic.twitter.com/3Ytt1k6WvK
— Keith Krimbel (@KeithKrimbel) September 14, 2017
The closed-eyes defense was already known, as Apple execs had suggested as much during the iPhone X unveiling on Tuesday. Officials stated that Face ID “needs-your-attention” to unlock the phone.
But Craig’s tip about gripping the buttons on both sides of the phone was something that wasn’t told earlier.
However, whether this feature will be of use under such situations will solely depend on how ‘cool’ you are that time.
If you don’t think you’ll have presence of mind to disable FaceID in the heat of the moment, you can always just close your eyes.
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