“For well over two months, my days have ended and begun with the iPhone X,” Jessica Dolcourt writes for CNET. “Compared to older iPhones, the X feels impressively fast, slim and, with 5.8 inches of screen space, satisfyingly spacious. But as I’ve grown to appreciate some of its finer points, I’ve also discovered the traits that make me roll my eyes, gnash my teeth and occasionally erupt with a well-chosen expletive.”
“Face ID, Apple’s replacement for the secure fingerprint reader, uses the iPhone X’s front-facing camera to approve mobile purchases and unlock the phone,” Dolcourt writes. “It works by making a 3D map of your eyes, nose and mouth — except when it doesn’t. Face ID recognizes me often, but fails enough times to make me notice. For example, I have about a 50-50 success rate while wearing my polarized sunglasses.”
MacDailyNews Take: You’re using it wrong. From Apple’s Face ID support document: “If you’re wearing sunglasses designed to block certain types of light, then your sunglasses might be blocking the infrared light used by the TrueDepth camera. Try using Face ID without your sunglasses.”
“When it doesn’t work is when I want it to most: as soon as I wake up in the morning. Part of the problem is biological,” Dolcourt writes. “I’m near-sighted, which means that when I first reach for the phone while my glasses and contacts are resting in their cases, I wind up holding the phone closer to my face than the 25 to 50 centimeters that Apple recommends.”
MacDailyNews Take: So, to quote Steve Jobs, “you’re holding it wrong.”
“I use maps navigation quite a lot. When you pop out of either Google Maps or Apple Maps to do something else, the iPhone X helpfully puts a tiny blue Tic Tac around the clock, turning it into a nifty little button you can tap to pop back into the map again,” Dolcourt writes. “This is great, but Apple stops short. See, you can toggle from any app back into the map, but you can’t toggle from the map back to what you were doing before. So if you’re reading an article, you can pop into the map to check on the directions (using the shortcut) but won’t be able to return to the story (no shortcut).”
MacDailyNews Take: Swipe up and hold. Tap your app. There is no step three.
“But the biggest problem is… The first iPhone was so beloved because — in a world of hard-to-use phones that acted like mini computers with file systems, keyboards and styluses — it was simple. Anyone could pick it up and figure it out. 10 years on, you can’t use the iPhone X without a tutorial, which Apple does provide,” Dolcourt writes. “Apple, in paving the way with some new technologies, had the opportunity to rethink how we use a phone, and wound up making it more complicated to use — not less.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, it got slightly more complex. We’ve found even the most average people can get used to operating an iPhone X in a few days. Technically-minded people can get it down in a few hours. It’s not that hard.
We’ve gladly traded a few hours of relearning for never having to press that damnable Home button ever again! We hate our iPads’ antiquated Home buttons!
she’s a whiner wanting headlines
And I like MDN’s Take:
MacDailyNews Take: So, to quote Steve Jobs, “you’re holding it wrong.”
I agree. I find it very aggravating to use my iPad Pro 10.5 inch after using my iPhone X. I was not planning to buy a new iPad Pro this year, but if it has Face ID, I will.
Regarding her complaint about the lack of alarm icon (not repeated here), I think Apple has long done this poorly and it never behaved the way she believes. She assumes that an alarm icon in the status bar means an alarm will sound the next morning. However the alarm icon (through iOS 10 at least) only means you have an alarm set, whether it be tomorrow morning or next Tuesday. That’s always been one of those features that has me asking whether Apple’s software engineers even use iPhones.
I like how MDN is so quick to point out that the end user must adapt to and relearn new technology.
It’s a bit disgusting.
What happened to the days where Apple would pride itself in shipping devices that were so intuitive that a manual or video tutorial was not required? It shouldn’t take a few days or a few hours to figure out a device.
It’s a good point, but recall that the original iPhone was a far less capable product.
This trend of iOS of becoming less intuitive started when skeuomorphism lost favor.
“You’re using it wrong.” vs. “It’s not really intuitive.”
Remember, Steve Jobs was keen on making products intuitive to use. In my opinion Apple is not paying enough attention to intuitive usage anymore. And if one has to take of the sunglasses every time to unlock the phone, that’s pretty stupid. I’m staying with my iPhone 6 for now. Sorry, give me one-star ratings if you please!
I wear sunglasses all the time and changed the Face ID setting and it’s 100% now
I am 69 years old, have been an Apple user since Apple 2E & IPhone 3, 4, 5 6s+ and now X. Have loved every IPhone for the technology it brings and ease of learning the new features. With X there was perhaps a few minutes more of getting used to the new features but I am so happy I have the X. I thought I would miss the Home button, but Not! In fact when using my iPad I get frustrated with the Home button. Face ID, I wear glasses, different styles and sunglasses with good sun protection and I have no problem with Face ID even when lying in bed. I will say, I repeated the Face ID three times to get it correct, it would work just OK but the third time was the charm! It was me learning to take my time & not rush the process.
Oh, ferfucksake! So reach for your contact lenses first, and don’t wear polarized sunglasses!!!
I love the face id… and i love the new UI interactivity.. nothing complex about it! In a matter of an hour or so it becomes second nature and imo much more fluid than the home button UI paradigm.
So….to me, the Author is nagging for nothing.. maybe she got up from the wrong side of the bed.
youtube.com/watch?v=V04pXy_O0Qs
That’s the problem about talking about things before they’re released. He was wrong about most of what he thought. In part because he was comparing FaceID to poorer implementations of facial recognition that came out previously. Good God, that Samsung demo looked barbaric.
I love the way he says he wants the TouchID to be on the back of the iPhone, but then says half the time he turns on his iPhone, it’s laying on a table.
He points out the practicality of TouchID which I agree 100%.
I just hope that the next iPX offers both choices.
to me face id is God sent…and much much more consistent and transparent thant touch id .
The iPhone X isn’t for everyone. It requires hands and a brain.
… And a face!
😊
CNET used to be a site worth reading.
Nowadays, sadly, they’re just a bunch of cnuts.
Technology for techies who are also dummies – like the author, Jessica Dolcourt.
These people prove that is a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
It’s time we all started boycotting CNET – and girlcotting it too, in our equality-minded times.
Fcuk the cnuts at CNET – the computer network for the extremely thick.
The glasses issue can also be resolved by turning off “requires attention” for FaceID.
The iPhone X is on par with its problems, in relation to prior models. Swipe up, right etc are blessings. Face ID is mostly neutral. Double Click to purchase is more difficult. I find that using Apple Pay is sometimes easier on the X than prior models and sometimes more annoying. I blame the retailer in many cases because they dictate the flow of the purchase.
The thing I feel is missing the most is an option as follows:
– If there are no new notification, as soon as FaceID recognizes my face, the iPhone should unlock (i.e., no swipe up necessary.
I would LOVE to see this. I get it that if I do have new notifications, I want to see what those are before I unlock. But if I have NO new notifications- why not just open the thing up?
Face ID doesn’t simply unlock because Apple wants you to be able to see your notifications if you want to. Simples.
Pretty lame article.
Whining writer who probably finds she needs directions to use a toilet.
Typical CNET lame reporting.
I hate FaceID. It works 50% of the time, and I don’t have polarized sunglasses. It is increadibly frustrating, and to be honest, the iPhone X is a clunker and a rip-off. I should of stuck with my original plan and just upgraded to the iPhone 7 Plus.
On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 3 has been pretty good. It streams my Apple Music playlists to my Air Pods flawlessly, and it sounds good. The speed of the Apple Watch is OK, but not fantastic and there are a few key apps which need to be added such as Apple’s Notes and YouTube. Another issue is the calories burned walking outside is completely different than calories burned on the treadmill. But, beside those flaws it is a good piece of tech. Wish I could say the same for the iPhone X.
Hey #FIRETIMCOOK,
Put your iPhone X on Ebay and run just as fast as those ignorant legs will carry you and buy whatever floats your boat….you’re kind does a dis-service to technology the rest of us welcome!!!
1st off, you imbecile prick, I avoid direct personal insults unless I’m provoked.
2nd Its YOUR KIND not ‘you’re’, you illiterate moron.
3rd I don’t own a iPX, I’m quite happy with my 7Plus.
4th If you don’t respect other’s opinion and you are so blind with your fanaticism, then you are one sick little boy.
GROW UP YOU INFANTILE PRICK!
One other point
You can turn off “require attention” in the faceID settings
Then faceID will work with ALL sunglasses, and even more consistently, since you’ll never have issues will failing to look at it at the right time.
The only loss of security is related to things like your kids holding it to your face when sleeping. For those who argue that a mugger with a gun could hold it to your face, I say: when a mugger has a gun and tells you to look at your phone, you’ll do it regardless.
I’ve found turning off “require attention” to be a very big win.
Yeah, it’s ALWAYS the users fault now…right.
I have a pair of polarized Maui Jim’s and it works ok, but sometimes fails….the most f’kin annoying ass thing is the inadvertent screenshot, because I am adjusting volume by holding up the vol. button, but to grip the phone with one hand, it hits the right button, I am using an armor case that is a little thicker, hence the need to push the vol. button. You better have a case with the X because it is as slippery as a wet eel. It will slide off an almost horizontal level (think your couch) with no case. Screenshot issue is a design flaw on Apple’s part. I have to constantly clean out screenshots….that needs to be fixed.
I suspect the reality is Apple wanted Touch ID with a finger print to remain but couldn’t make the tech work under the display. I use Face ID but sometimes, particularly Apple Pay I’d prefer a Touch ID. It’s more discreet. Give it 3 or gen and an under screen Touch ID will be back – moving face of rightly to more app centric features.
“MacDailyNews Take: Swipe up and hold. Tap your app. There is no step three.”
A better option is swipe up and curve to the right. No reason to hold. This avoids bumpy roads when you’re not holding still problem.
The need to get rid of the requirement to hold on an app until to quit the app. They need to bring back the old way, it was much faster. There is no need to hold before you can close an app.
My biggest gripe and it’s a bad bug in the iPhone X , if you lock your phone with any variety apps open. The next time you go to unlock your phone it’s completely blank. No home button indicator, no clock, no flash light or camera icon and the only way to correct it is a restart.
Face ID is near 100% for me. The times it fails is when the phone is laying flat on the table; sometimes it *is* a PITA to have to pick the phone up to “log in”. Touch ID never had this problem (though it did have problems of its own). As for holding the phone too close — what an idiot. I am am also near-sighted. Never realized I had to be able to *see* the screen in order to have Face ID recognize me. Usually, the thing is all signed in by the time I have the phone close enough to my face to read it w/o glasses anyway. That was a *very* weak complaint. As for the polaroid glasses, I’d argue that Touch ID’s issues with gloves is a bigger problem (and harder to remove gloves than remove sunglasses; question: can you program face ID to recognize you with the glasses on or off?).
As for me, I’d rather have the home button. But I can live with it’s loss for the other features of the X. The only reason I’d go to a different phone is if Apple built all the features of the X into the SE form factor.
To me Face ID is a pain in the ass. It rarely works in direct sunlight. Doesn’t work when the phone is sideways. Can’t always show battery %. No headphones jack. Have you tried writing any music in garage band with the air pods? Stupid amount of latency. The done button doesn’t show up when you are moving apps in folders. There is no consistency between devices. For instance: To show control panel: Swipe up twice from the bottom with the iPad Pro. Swipe down from the top right with iPhone X.
Further, I agree that the Touch ID button was better for me. I am one of those people that will leave my phone on the desk and want to simply press the Touch ID button so that I can read the notifications at an angle. Don’t tell me I’m holding it wrong. I want to unlock it without holding it in my hand.
Also. Sometimes, when you swipe to clear a notification from the lock screen it will clear. The other half of the time it opens the camera. Why have a virtual button for the camera and have virtually the same gesture that does 2 completely different actions?!?!?