Face ID is a game changer--the iPhone X's killer app

When the iPhone X was announced, the world was also introduced to Face ID for the first time. Long rumored, Face ID is Apple's answer to life without the Home button. Touting on stage that Face ID was more accurate, as well as more secure than Touch ID, Apple set the bar high. Touch ID was one of my most used, and most beloved, features of my iPhone since it's inception in 2013 with the iPhone 5S. It forever changed the way I authenticated with countless apps, not to mention how I paid for my items at checkout after Apple Pay was unveiled.

The iPhone X was the first iPhone that left me skeptical after the announcement. The new iOS gestures, lack of the the Home button and Touch ID, and (of course) the notch. After several weeks of everyday use with the iPhone X, Craig Federighi was right when he asked us to trust him (in press interviews following the event). I got used to the iOS gestures in the first few minutes and now strongly prefer them; they're one of the most intuitive things Apple has introduced since the passing of Steve Jobs. The notch is easily forgotten, and Face ID is, well...Face ID is an extremely well executed implementation of facial recognition that spans the entire OS. It is already the feature I miss the most when using a device that doesn't have it, and I wonder how I ever lived without it.

The act of simply raising my phone and swiping up to unlock while it scans various points of my face to authenticate it is totally seamless. It is far more accurate than I could have ever anticipated, and it has frequently surprised me by working in scenarios I'm sure it wouldn't. But that's not even why I love it so much.

Apple has done an amazing job integrating the feature throughout the entirety of the OS. Those banking apps you have that just (finally) introduced Touch ID support last year? Well, iOS is smart enough to replace that interaction with Face ID now. The app itself doesn't need to push any code update supporting Face ID. It will simply use Face ID instead. Maybe you find yourself navigating the web, and come across a login page; as soon as that page loads, the iPhone X will use Face ID to autofill that form for you from your keychain.

Apple has certainly had it's blunders from both hardware and software design in the post-Steve era, but the iPhone X and Face ID are a huge step forward in regaining consumers trust. Now if only I could use my Magic Mouse while it charges...^[1]