Last week I noticed a tweet that suggested you could unlock the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 using its face recognition with a photo on another phone. I chuckled and wondered if it had been faked somehow. It wasn't a fake, I've checked with my own review unit and it really is that bad.
So, you're asking, what's the problem here? Samsung doesn't tell anyone that face unlock is especially secure and it has two modes, one fast - but which can easily be unlocked with a picture - and the other more secure, but that is so slow it's not viable. The only problem I have with Samsung offering this solution really is that may give people the illusion of security when in fact that's quite flimsy in reality.
Apple won't want to make this mistake. Apple has been proud - and rightly in my opinion - of its security. Apple wouldn't - I don't believe - allow a system that could be fooled at any level by a photo. To do so would undermine its reputation and may considerable harm sales, especially in enterprise. Oh, and for what it's worth Samsung is no slouch either, because its Knox protection is really first-rate and should be applauded, that's why I'm surprised about its face scanning problems.
The answer to all Samsung's problems is Microsoft. Take a look at Windows 10's face unlock feature that falls under Windows Hello and you'll see that it is possible to use faces to unlock a device and maintain security. Microsoft's system is so good that even identical twins can't unlock laptops secured with it.
So how does it work? Well it uses an infrared camera to map faces in 3D, this allows the camera to measure the distance of all your features quite precisely and this, in turn, allows for a detailed map of your face that is unique to you - even if you're a twin. Because it's 3D, it can't be fooled by photos.
To give an example of just how secure the system is, Microsoft claims it has a false positive rate of 0.001%. The system won't always positively identify you - it has about a 5% failure rate - but it absolutely won't let someone in who isn't you.
So it will need to be an approach like this that Apple takes with its face detection - and this is assuming that it follows this route, as has been rumored. Honestly, though I'll rather miss TouchID. I like the way Apple has dealt with fingerprints and I like the home button placement. But if it can match the speed of Samsung's face unlock and the security of Microsoft's Hello, we're onto a winner.
And at this point, while it seems unlikely that we might get an under-screen fingerprint scanner, I still think this technology will be with us soon. As I've mentioned before, Qualcomm has a demo of it and has for many years. The new fingerprint scanners which can work through glass, or metal, use ultrasound to map your fingerprint. They're more secure and work when your hands are wet. So whatever Apple does now, I suspect we'll see a new system again soon.
