When Apple launched FaceID on the iPhone X earlier this year, the Cupertino giant claimed its next-generation authentication tech will be very hard to breach. Apple claimed only one in a million will be able to unlock someone’s else iPhone X. We have probably seen that probability in action. In China, the world’s most populated country, a woman claimed her colleague was able to unlock her iPhone X, even after Apple replaced the device twice citing faulty components.
The woman, named Yan, claimed her coworker was able to bypass FaceID on her iPhone X. A resident of China’s Nanjing district, she called Apple support, but they refused to believe her. It was only when she paid an Apple Store a visit with her colleague did they acknowledge the issue and gave a replacement believing the unit’s camera was faulty.
However, even the second device she received was bypassed by her coworker. This leads to the question: As much as Apple touts the impossibility of bypassing FaceID, is it really that reliable?
FaceID leverages the front-facing TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X which combines a bunch of IR sensors to map the contours of your face to authenticate. An Apple spokesperson has claimed the company suspects both women could have used the phone during FaceID training and the phone has been “essentially taught” to recognise both faces.
It isn’t the first time Apple’s FaceID has been fooled though. Just last month, sets of identical twins were brought in, to fool FaceID and not surprisingly, FaceID failed to discern between twins and unlocked for both people. Apple's head of marketing, Phil Schiller also went on the record to claim FaceID was a biggest gamble Apple ever took, but at what cost, is the question that begs to be asked.