When Apple first introduced Face ID with the iPhone X, many were concerned that facial recognition would make it easier to hack into phones.
Fortunately, Apple’s approach to Face ID has largely allayed people’s fears. But just how secure is the facial recognition biometric technology adopted by Apple and its rivals? A Forbes reporter (and his 3D printed head model) recently demonstrated just how the iPhone stacks up against Android rivals.
The 3D printed head, created by taking multiple photos of the writer’s head and then turning these into a 3D printable model, is pretty darn realistic. It was also fairly cheap, costing around $380 in total. The results were tested on an iPhone X and multiple Android devices, including an LG G7 ThinQ, Samsung S9, Samsung Note 8, and OnePlus 6.
The experiment showcases just how far ahead of its rivals the iPhone X is. Apple’s handset was the only device that couldn’t be unlocked in this way. The others all quickly unlocked when presented with the 3D printed face.
More secure than its competitors
To be totally fair to the Android devices, they don’t claim to be as secure as Apple’s technology. For example, the LG G7 notes, when being started up, that, “Face recognition is a secondary unlock method that results in your phone being less secure.” All offer other passcode systems which can be used instead of facial recognition.
However, given that Apple’s Face ID has quickly set the benchmark for what users expect to be the primary way of unlocking their devices, there are bound to be a number of Android users out there who simply don’t realize how insecure the smartphone protection they are using actually is.
Hey, you can criticize Apple’s ever increasing prices, but the company does work hard to justify that price tag!
Source: Forbes