Federighi explains the cause of Face ID failure during the iPhone X event; adds that the feature can be temporarily disabled

Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, has cleared some of the doubts related to the security issues and unlocking problems on the newly unveiled Apple iPhone X . Craig answered a mail from Keith Krimbel.

Answering a questions that asked about the problem in unlocking the phone as it happened during the launch even, the vice president replied that the ‘bio-lockout’ he experienced on the stage was because of the ‘several interactions by other people with the phone’, before it was put on the stage prompting it to ask for the password.

E-mailed #CraigFederighi about #FaceID and actually got a response! pic.twitter.com/3Ytt1k6WvK

— Keith Krimbel (@KeithKrimbel) September 14, 2017

He also mentioned that this has never been a real problem for those living with the iPhone X over last months.

The iPhone X also unlocks most of the time even when the user is wearing sunglasses. Craig also added “It works with most of the sunglasses but not all. Most of the sunglasses let through enough IR light that FaceID can see your eyes even when the glasses appear to be opaque. It’s really amazing!”

On being asked what would happen if a thief too your iPhone X, pointed it at your face to unlock it and then running away with it, Craig wrote “There are two mitigations: if you don’t stare at the phone, it won’t unlock. Also, if you grip the buttons on both sides of the phone when you hand it over, it will temporarily disable Face ID.”