iPhone x without face ID what is it
Review of the long-awaited Apple iPhone X: out of frames and without buttons
In Russia, the attitude towards Apple has always been special. the moment of launching each iPhone, starting with the iPhone 3Gs, was accompanied by real excitement. At first, Apple tried to establish sales through operators, this happened with a huge delay, and then Russia for a long time did not fall into the number of countries of the first wave. As a result, a lot of consumer interest fell on gray imports. smartphones that were brought from countries where they had already been.
I was fortunate enough to start my acquaintance with the iPhone X even before the official launch of sales, so by now I have gone through all the psychological stages: from denial and anger to acceptance and humility. And although this is a very important product for both Apple and the market in general, I still cannot say that the iPhone X is pure and unconditional delight. Why is that? Let’s figure it out.
Specifications, complete set
| Apple iPhone X | Apple iPhone 8 Plus | Apple iPhone 8 | Apple iPhone 7 Plus | Samsung Galaxy Note8 | |
| Screen | 5.8 inches, Super AMOLED, 2436 × 1125, 458 ppi, capacitive multitouch, TrueTone technology | 5.5 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 401 ppi, capacitive multitouch, TrueTone technology |
4.7 inches, IPS, 1334 × 750, 326 ppi, capacitive multitouch, TrueTone technology | 5.5 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 401 ppi, capacitive multitouch |
6.3 inches, Super AMOLED, 1440 × 2960 pixels, 521 ppi, capacitive multitouch |
| Protective glass | There is no data | There is no data | There is no data | There is no data | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| CPU | Apple A11 Bionic: six cores (2 × Moonsoon 4 × Mistral) | Apple A11 Bionic: six cores (2 × Moonsoon 4 × Mistral) | Apple A11 Bionic: six cores (2 × Moonsoon 4 × Mistral) | Apple A10 Fusion: Quad Core, 2.23 GHz | Samsung Exynos 8895: eight cores (4 × M1, 2.5 GHz 4 × Cortex-A53, 1.69 GHz) |
| Graphics controller | Apple GPU (3 cores) | Apple GPU (3 cores) | Apple GPU (3 cores) | Apple GPU (2 cores) | Mali-G71 MP20, 850 MHz |
| RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | 6 GB |
| Flash memory | 64/256 GB | 64/256 GB | 64/256 GB | 32/128/256 GB | 64/128/256 GB |
| Connectors | 1 × Lightning 1 × nanoSIM |
1 × Lightning 1 × nanoSIM |
1 × Lightning 1 × nanoSIM |
1 × Lightning 1 × nanoSIM |
1 × USB Type C 1 × nanoSIM 1 × microSD / nanoSIM |
| Cellular 2G | GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz | GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz |
| Cellular 3G | UMTS / HSPA / DC-HSDPA (84 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz | UMTS / HSPA / DC-HSDPA (84 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz | UMTS / HSPA / DC-HSDPA (84 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz | UMTS / HSPA / DC-HSDPA (84 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz | UMTS / HSPA / DC-HSDPA (84 Mbps) 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz |
| Cellular 4G | LTE Cat. 12 (450 Mbps), ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40. 41, 66 | LTE Cat. 12 (450 Mbps), ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40. 41, 66 | LTE Cat. 12 (450 Mbps), ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40. 41, 66 | LTE Cat. 9 (450 Mbps), ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39. 40, 41 | LTE Cat. 10 (450 Mbps), ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 38, 39, 40, 41 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a / b / g / n / ac 2.4 / 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO (866 Mbps) | 802.11a / b / g / n / ac 2.4 / 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO (866 Mbps) | 802.11a / b / g / n / ac 2.4 / 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO (866 Mbps) | 802.11a / b / g / n / ac 2.4 / 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO (866 Mbps) | 802.11a / b / g / n / ac 2.4 / 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO (866 Mbps) |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 |
| NFC | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Samsung Pay) |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS |
| Sensors | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer / gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer / gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer / gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer / gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer / gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass) |
| The fingerprint scanner | No (instead of it. Face ID) | Yes (in front) | Yes (front) | Yes (in front) | Yes (behind) |
| Main camera | Dual camera: 12 MP, ƒ / 1.8 12 MP, ƒ / 2.4, autofocus, four-LED flash, optical stabilization in both cameras | Dual camera: 12 MP, ƒ / 1.8 12 MP, ƒ / 2.8, autofocus, four-LED flash, optical stabilization in both cameras | 12 MP, ƒ / 1.8, autofocus, four-LED flash, optical stabilizer | Dual camera: 12 MP, ƒ / 1.8 12 MP, ƒ / 2.8, autofocus, four-LED flash, optical stabilizer in the main camera | Dual camera: 12 MP, ƒ / 1.7 12 MP, ƒ / 2.4, autofocus, dual LED flash, optical image stabilization in both cameras |
| Front-camera | 7 MP, ƒ / 2.2, no flash | 7 MP, ƒ / 2.2, no flash | 7 MP, ƒ / 2.2, no flash | 7 MP, ƒ / 2.2, no flash | 8 MP, ƒ / 1.7, autofocus, no flash |
| Food | Removable battery: 10.26 Wh (2716 mAh, 3.8 V) | Removable battery: 10.22 Wh (2691 mAh, 3.8 V) | Removable battery: 6.91 Wh (1821 mAh, 3.8 V) | Removable battery: 11.1 Wh (2900 mAh, 3.8 V) | Removable battery: 12.54 Wh (3300 mAh, 3.8 V) |
| The size | 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm | 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm | 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm | 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm |
| Weight | 174 g | 202 g | 148 g | 188 g | 195 g |
| Water and dust resistant | Yes, IP67 standard | Yes, IP67 standard | Yes, IP67 standard | Yes, IP67 standard | Yes, IP68 standard |
| Operating system | iOS 11 | iOS 11 | iOS 11 | iOS 10 | Android 7.1.1 Nougat |
| Actual | from 64 990 rubles | from 56 990 rubles | from 52 990 rubles | 69,990 rubles |
Design and ergonomics
From a purely hardware point of view, the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X differ little from each other, but Apple fans greeted the G8 calmly, and real hype reigns around the G10. There are several reasons, but design comes first, of course. We have already mentioned that the design of Apple devices has practically not changed since the iPhone 6. The same body dimensions, the same controls, the same screen, albeit with some improvements, and the same appearance have been used for three years in a row. forever by today’s standards. In other words, we are literally tired of waiting for something radically new from Apple.
And as strange as it sounds, the main innovation in the iPhone X has been to follow the fashion that Samsung has been setting in recent years. We are talking, of course, about the screen in the entire front panel. The new iPhone calls it Super Retina and uses an AMOLED matrix for the first time (all previous iPhones, including the iPhone 8, offered IPS matrices). What’s more, it offers for the first time a resolution higher than Full HD and a new aspect ratio of 21.6: 10 (or 19.5: 9 if you count the area before the notch). There is a small cutout at the top of the screen that houses the voice speaker, as well as a front-facing camera and TrueDepth system for face recognition. The paradox is that, despite such a controversial design decision, the screen-to-face ratio of the iPhone X is still lower than that of the Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8. Let this be a reason for the pride of all fans of the Korean company, and I will return to this topic a little later.
Yes, iPhone X is only available in black (Space Gray) and white (Silver), just like in the good old days. The front and back panels are completely covered with tempered glass, and the one-piece frame around the perimeter of the case is made of surgical steel. It looks great, but there is some bad news: over time, it becomes covered with small scratches, like the classic iPod Touch in its time. It is unlikely that this will please those who have just paid 80 thousand rubles for the device, but small scratches on the ends do not affect the overall attractiveness of the device at all. Well, then you always have the opportunity to use a cover or bumper, which have already been stamped for the iPhone X, which has not gone in the entire history of any single Android smartphone. over, inexpensive Chinese crafts began to be sold even before the official announcement of the iPhone X.
The size of the iPhone X is slightly larger than the iPhone 8 and slightly more compact than the iPhone 8 Plus, despite the fact that it has the largest screen diagonal. In my opinion, these are the optimal dimensions of the device for an average male hand. The screen itself, though slightly narrower than that of the iPhone 7/8 Plus, but you can only notice this difference by direct comparison.
The camera block protrudes noticeably above the back surface. perhaps even more than in the iPhone 7/8 Plus. But the glass is strong there. it just won’t get scratched, and when you use a cover, the camera will be even better protected. I know that many were not happy with the new camera after the announcement of the iPhone X, but, in my opinion, it looks quite organic. And if we talk about the combination with a branded silicone case, then here it became even better compared to the previous generation of iPhones.
The Home button, as you can see, is gone. There is also no fingerprint scanner built into it. But if Touch ID is now replacing Face ID, what will replace the button press return to home screen? It’s simple. a gesture from the bottom up. I think this is a very correct decision. Any iPhone user intuitively lifts his thumb down, and at this moment, instead of instinctively pressing a button, the brain “clicks” the realization that now you need to slide your finger up instead of pressing. In general, Apple chose a very logical and correct option.
How many mechanical controls are left on the iPhone X? Exactly four: a power button, two keys for volume control and a vibration mode switch. But there are more options for using these elements and their combinations than there were. And now I will tell you more about this.
Remember when Apple dropped the Slide to Unlock feature in iOS 10? Everyone went through it calmly. why do we need an extra gesture, if now you can unlock your smartphone with one touch? Apple threw away one of the most recognizable interface elements without unnecessary sentimentality as soon as it became unnecessary. Exactly the same thing is happening now: face recognition in the iPhone X makes Touch ID completely unnecessary. And if the same Samsung gives its users a choice: instead of face recognition (or rather, the iris of the eye), you can use a fingerprint, the owner of the iPhone X will not have such a choice.
We must pay tribute to Apple: its system works much more accurately, and most importantly, it is very natural. You take the smartphone in your hand in the usual way, the screen lights up, magic happens (face recognition), and then you unlock the lock with a swipe up. If another person tries to do this, he will not succeed. You don’t need to hold your iPhone close to your face or keep it at a certain distance from your eyes, you just need to turn it with the screen towards you. The fun begins when you try to trick Face ID. In my case, neither unshaven, nor a cap, nor a hat, nor different glasses had an effect: the system takes into account possible age-related changes, and your face does not cease to be recognized due to a new hairstyle, a different hair color or especially bright makeup. When registering a face, the TrueDepth camera takes a 3D impression using an infrared projector, and also captures the eyes, nose and lips. So you won’t be able to remove the lock by turning the smartphone towards the sleeping person. you definitely need open eyes. But now any investigator can find out whether the detainee’s phone belongs to without asking direct questions. The very same data about your face, according to Apple, is stored only on your iPhone in encrypted form and is not transferred anywhere.
The Home button was used not only to return to the desktop from any application, but for other purposes, often in combination with other buttons. On the iPhone X, these button combinations have changed. For example, in order to take a screenshot, you need to simultaneously press the volume up button and the key on the right side. The latter, out of habit, I want to call the power button, but now to control the power, you need to use the same combination as for the screenshot, only not with a short press, but with a long hold. A hard reboot takes place in three stages: first, alternately press the volume up and down, then press and hold the right button. To call Siri, you need to double-press the right button while on the desktop, and in the App Store, the same press serves to confirm purchases via Face ID.
You return to the desktop by swiping your finger upward from the bottom edge of the screen. A slow swipe from here with your finger in the middle of the screen allows you to switch between open applications. Previously, a similar section was available by double-clicking the Home button, but if then we could just swipe the application windows up to close them, now we need to touch any window and hold our finger for a second.
All previous iPhones since the fifth generation had the same aspect ratio. 16: 9. This made it possible, for example, to watch video in a truly full-screen mode, without black bars around the edges, and fingers resting comfortably on the strips of the body above and below the screen. But with the new aspect ratio, most videos are played with black bars on the left and right, and you have to hold the smartphone by the screen itself. The keyboard now appears not at the very edge of the screen, but slightly higher. so the bottom rounding does not limit the width of the keys, and it is more convenient to hold the smartphone while typing in this way. But switching the layout now happens differently, the corresponding button has moved to the very bottom under the left thumb. At first, of course, it will be unusual, especially for those who use 3-4 keyboards with different languages, but in general, this approach turned out to be more convenient than the previous one. it is more difficult to miss the button.
In the screenshots, the screen cutout does not show itself in any way, which is logical. So to answer the question of whether it interferes, you can only after a personal acquaintance. In my opinion, it does not interfere at all. after a while you simply stop paying attention to it. But there are other features of the interface that are a little annoying. Those very “ears” of the screen, which reach the upper edge of the case, have a very limited width, so it is impossible to display the operator’s name and the remaining percentage of the battery on the right. There is only a not very informative indicator, and the exact level can be viewed exclusively in the control center, which is called by swiping down from the right “ear”. A similar gesture on the left opens the notification panel. in my case, a very rarely used element.
An excellent option for disguising the top notch of the iPhone X screen
By the way, most applications have not yet learned how to work with the notch of the screen, although, most likely, the point is not even in it, but simply in the new aspect ratio. But this is only a matter of time, I perfectly remember a similar problem at the time of the transition from iPhone 4S to iPhone 5.
And finally, the main innovation of the iPhone X is Animoji. They are available as an additional function in iMessage, but after recording, they can be saved and sent as you like, even by mail, at least via AirDrop, at least in other messengers. It’s nice that Apple doesn’t fix any obstacles here.
Let me remind you, the bottom line is that the TrueDepth camera can quite accurately track your facial expressions and apply facial expressions to animated emoji. True, the selection of templates is still small. there are only nine of them, including the famous poop, but now Apple will be able to add new templates with every OS update, so don’t say later that nothing has changed in iOS 11.1.2 and 11.1.3. And yes, I remember very well how, during the broadcast of the presentation of the iPhone X, we were shown an animated and talking poop, and I called it “the innovation we deserve.” All jokes, but you can’t even imagine how many people in the world are willing to pay for such senseless and harmless things. So Apple just meets the demand, nothing personal.
Ironically, the iPhone X is the first Apple smartphone to feature an OLED display. Prior to that, the company used only IPS-matrices, and of extremely high quality and with very precise settings. Has anything changed with the transition to the new technology? Perhaps only that the picture on the display is better discernible in the sun, and if you could read from the screen in clear weather before, now you can even assess the correct exposure by eye when shooting. Nothing has changed in terms of setting quality and color accuracy, which is good.
An important difference between the iPhone X and all other “bezel-less” smartphones is that it has no bezels at the top and bottom. The same Samsung Galaxy S8 had noticeable stripes on the top and bottom; purely visually, the new iPhone looks, so to speak, more frameless. But in general, this whole “fight with the frames” is a real game of imitation. As I already mentioned, the figure of the ratio of the screen area to the area of the front surface of the flagship Samsung is higher. The fact is that it has no side frames at all, and the iPhone X has two millimeters on each side, so the final result is not as high as it could be.
The maximum brightness of the iPhone X screen compared to other devices
Moving on to the test results, I will note the high maximum brightness. even by the standards of AMOLED screens. Not only is it higher than the Galaxy S8, it is even higher than many IPS panels, including the iPhone 8 display. The minimum brightness is slightly higher than the iPhone 7 Plus, but thanks to TrueTone technology, it is much more comfortable to read in complete darkness. Let me remind you that the essence of the technology is to continuously monitor ambient light and adjust the color temperature of the screen accordingly. At the time of testing, of course, it was disabled.
iPhone X, color gamut. White triangle is iPhone X coverage, gray triangle is sRGB reference color space
iPhone X, gamma. Yellow line. indicators of iPhone X, dashed lines show the boundaries of the norm (from 2.2 to 2.4)
The color gamut exceeds the sRGB reference space, but the difference is minimal. it can be easily attributed to the testing error. The gamma is tuned very precisely. its average value is 2.23.
Phone X, color temperature. Blue line. iPhone X indicators, dashed line. reference 6500 K
The color temperature averages 6750 K, which is slightly higher than the reference 6500 K, but you will not notice such a difference with the naked eye at all. Apple is still doing well in terms of screen customization, and the transition to OLED was surprisingly painless.
Surprisingly different. with such a huge display, the iPhone X is still equipped with two loud and bass speakers. Previous models had full order with this, and this is just not surprising. It is much more difficult to make high-quality sound with such a large display. You don’t have to go far for examples: the Samsung Galaxy Note8 has an extremely poor speaker, only one, and the sound from it is completely muffled with one careless movement of your finger. Apple does not allow this to itself, and even more so, the iPhone X sounds even louder and even better than the iPhone 8 Plus.
Well, it’s probably worth recalling that Apple abandoned the 3.5mm headphone jack back in the iPhone 7, so neither the iPhone 8, nor the iPhone X. which comes with the kit, or via Bluetooth. And this is no longer a whim of Apple, this is a new reality of the market, there are already quite a few Android devices where the manufacturer also abandoned the mini-jack.
СТОИТ ЛИ ПОКУПАТЬ IPHONE X/XR БЕЗ FACE ID???
From a hardware point of view, the iPhone X is very similar to the iPhone 8 Plus. They have the same A11 Bionic processors with six cores, the same tri-core graphics accelerators, and even equal amounts of RAM. 3 GB each. But the original iPhone 8 with a 4.7-inch screen has less RAM. 2 GB, but this is practically not reflected in the results. After testing the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, I was a little worried that the iPhone X would perform a little worse. it still has a higher resolution. But in the end, there is no difference between them at all, so the “ten” also becomes the most productive smartphone on the market. together with both “eights”.
The Geekbench 4 results show how good the CPU is. The superiority over the Samsung Galaxy S8 is almost twofold. And I’m not even sure that smartphones based on Qualcomm’s next flagship platform will be able to bypass the iPhone X, the maximum is to get close to it.
Unboxing of iPhone X from eBay but no Face ID
The conclusion from all this is very simple. the iPhone X will not only cope with all existing tasks, including any applications for augmented reality, but also retain a large margin of performance for two to three years to come. And most importantly, Apple will definitely update and support the smartphone all this time, and maybe longer. For example, the iPhone 5S, which was released in 2013, is still receiving updates regularly, and even iOS 11.1 works great on it.
Since the iPhone X uses the same hardware base as the iPhone 8/8 Plus, their communication capabilities are exactly the same. “Ten” supports LTE Cat.12 with a maximum download speed of 600 Mbit / s, and in the mode of sending data, it can theoretically reach 150 Mbit / s. Available and Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / GLONASS and a Wi-Fi module that supports 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac standards.
There is also an NFC module, but it is only used for Apple Pay. Fast wireless headphone or speaker connections are still out of reach for iPhone owners. On the other hand, all “native” accessories like Airpods and Apple Watch connect so quickly, simply and clearly that NFC would not affect anything here at all.
The main camera on the iPhone X is pretty much the same as on the iPhone 8 Plus. If you do not take into account the external differences, namely, the vertical arrangement of the camera unit on the rear panel, the highlight lies in the higher aperture of the telephoto lens (2.4 versus 2.8). Otherwise, the capabilities of the cameras are identical.
And although Apple did not increase the resolution, keeping the previous 12 megapixels, the sensor is still new. Rather, there are two sensors, one for each lens. One of the lenses has an equivalent focal length of 28 mm and an aperture of ƒ / 1.8, the other. 56 mm and ƒ / 2.4. Let me remind you that the notorious optical zoom is carried out by switching from one camera to another, but the main thing is that both lenses now have optical stabilization, so even switching during the video recording process does not make the picture more jittery.
Portrait mode is switched on separately, and it uses two cameras at once. In this regard, the iPhone X behaves exactly like the iPhone 8 Plus. The main innovation compared to the iPhone 7 Plus is the ability to select different lighting modes. to simulate shooting in a studio.
Of course, this is infinitely far from real studio shooting, but on the whole the result turns out to be decent. Most people don’t see any problems, although this whole smart platform using machine learning hasn’t improved at all in the last year. Ears, hair, glasses and other attributes of the portrait are still processed incorrectly and go into the imaginary zone of blur. And a characteristic feature of the iPhone X, which was not in the iPhone 8 Plus, is the ability to shoot portraits with the front camera. Yes, there is only one lens here, but the TrueDepth system actively helps it, so the result is not much worse than when shooting with the main camera.
But to be honest, all these fancy software gadgets surprise me much less than the quality of traditional shooting. The iPhone X has an amazing camera that captures sharp, detailed, and simply pleasing photos. all without the software-boosting brightness, contrast, and saturation that some Android devices do.
Video can be recorded in 4K resolution at 24, 30 and 60 frames per second, and slow motion at 240 FPS became available in Full HD resolution. I really hoped that along with this, a faster HD shooting mode would appear. for example, 480 FPS, but this did not happen.
The video quality is absolutely amazing and the optical stabilization allows you to shoot perfectly even without the handheld gimbal. And if clips and commercials were shot on the iPhone before, then they will shoot on the iPhone X in the same way, only it will look better.
Apple could have acted differently, but it has taken a not-so-pleasant path for users. All new iPhones support wireless and fast charging, but they come with the same adapter as before. That is, you will not get any fast charging. Your only option is to use either an iPad Pro or MacBook / MacBook Pro power adapter, but in this case, you will have to additionally purchase a USB-C cable on one end and a Lightning cable on the other. With wireless charging, things turned out to be even more interesting. At the moment, Apple does not have a branded adapter. it will be released next year. There are several models from third party manufacturers such as Belkin. But in my opinion, there is no point in buying a wireless charger at home. Let the owners of cafes, restaurants, cinemas and business lounges at airports take care of this. The whole point of wireless charging is not to take any adapters with you and charge anywhere, not to buy additional accessories yourself.
But the battery life pleasantly surprised me. I was expecting something in between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. At least Apple itself claims such values, but our standard test results were more impressive. Looped HD video playback with maximum screen brightness and active Wi-Fi connection drained the battery in 10 hours. However, here it should be borne in mind that the test video itself is rather dark, so that the AMOLED screen is not fully activated. Later I ran a more colorful video and got more modest results (although not much). In reality, I did not feel much difference in battery life between the iPhone 7 Plus, which I used for the last year, and the iPhone X. The latter can withstand daylight hours (from early morning to late evening in a very active mode), although the competing Samsung Galaxy S8 has better results. It is obvious.
You can try to find serious flaws in the iPhone X for as long as you like, but these searches will not be crowned with success. Yes, it will take us a while to get used to Face ID instead of Touch ID, to the new control gestures, and not to notice the same protrusion at the top of the case. But these are the usual difficulties of the transition period, and we have already gone through all this more than once. First we got used to Slide to Unlock, then to the fingerprint scanner, and now we will get used to face recognition. and everything will be fine. The main thing is that the iPhone looks very modern and cool again. I’m pretty sure Apple will use this design for another two, maybe three years, with only the smallest and most subtle improvements. All that the “Apple” smartphone lacked in the last year and a half, appeared in the iPhone X.
- gorgeous AMOLED screen,
- completely new case design,
- amazing dual camera,
- great sound (both in speakers and headphones),
- record high performance.
- lack of a fingerprint scanner,
- controversial notch solution,
- large shortage of devices by the end of the year.
Physical malfunction of Face ID
What exactly could go wrong with Face ID? And here is already HZ. To create a three-dimensional model of your face, the TrueDepth system is used, which consists of sensors and emitters (point projector, IR camera, IR emitter). It is difficult to say what exactly failed on impact.
I’ve searched through many forums and articles about Face ID not working on iPhone X, but I haven’t found a concrete answer yet.
It was possible to find only scraps of information that hint in which direction to dig at all. It turns out the TrueDepth camera is somehow connected to the telephoto lens (the one on the bottom) of the rear camera.
Apple even updated its Face ID troubleshooting routine for Genius Bar employees, where it clearly stated “The first step in troubleshooting Face ID is to try to replace the rear camera module.” If this does not help, the iPhone is replaced with a new one. Even Apple gives up.
From my personal observations of my iPhone X with a faulty Face ID, I can note the following:
- Camera apps take 3-4 times longer to load than usual
- The rear camera works seamlessly. And both lenses. All functions (portrait, slow-mo, etc.) work.
- The front camera works, but Portrait mode no longer blurs the background. Apparently Face ID sensors are involved in determining the contour of your body.
- During a FaceTime call, the front camera does not turn on and the message “Camera is being used by another application” appears on the screen.
- The flashlight (the one built into the rear camera module) now lives its own life. In most cases, it will not turn on when asked. But it can make an exception and light up.
The above makes me think that perhaps the problem really lies in the rear camera module. Maybe the plume has moved away slightly, or something has broken off inside the camera itself.
All other phone functions are working properly.
Face ID software problems
If you did not drop or chop nuts with your iPhone, then the problem may be related to the software. We all know that software is designed to freeze and fail. If this is your case (and even if not yours) try the following steps:
- STEP 1. Go to Settings. Face ID & Passcode. Reset Face ID
- STEP 2. Hard restart your iPhone by pressing the Volume down one by one. Volume. then press and hold the Side button until the screen turns off.
After your device restarts, try setting up Face ID.
If Face ID became unavailable after installing an iOS update, most likely the firmware is “crooked”. The most correct solution would be to connect your phone to your computer and restore it via iTunes with the latest version of iOS installed. If you need instructions, see here.
Unfortunately, in my case, these manipulations did not help, as well as Reset All Settings and Soft Restart. But it should be clear to a hedgehog that after the fall / impact, something inside the iPhone is out of order.
What to do when Face ID is not available
Contact the Apple Store for warranty. And this, in my opinion, is the best way out of this situation. Unfortunately, it is only suitable for iPhones that are still under warranty (usually 1 year). You can check the duration of the warranty by the serial number of the iPhone here on this page.
If your city does not have an official Apple Store or an authorized Apple service representative, the iPhone can always be sent by mail. To do this, you need to contact support (by phone or via chat) and agree to send the device.
What’s more, Apple will provide you with packaging materials and pay for round trip shipping (this should work in most civilized countries).
Contact your local workshop. This is a lottery. The problem with unavailable Face ID is not yet well understood. All that general craftsmen can do is check the cables and all internal connectors. If they start swapping modules or individual Face ID sensors, things could get worse. This is usually the case.
Chinese craftsmen have found that the main components of Face ID (IR camera, dot projector and IR emitter) are unique to each iPhone, because tied to a specific motherboard.
From this it follows that the usual repair on the knee is unlikely to work here.
Why Face ID failed
So, how did my iPhone come to such a life that it doesn’t want to see me now? Everything to the point of being banal is simple. this morning I was fed up with a ladder. Sorry, but another word is hardly suitable here. At the same time, the phone was in the right of his pants.
I landed successfully. on the stairs. but without fractures. I got off with a couple of solid bruises below the elbow and above the knee. well, Face ID ordered to live long.
Apparently, during the 2-second flight, the iPhone hit the stairs, which slid out from under me. Although there is no damage on it, and in the case I always had it.
But the result is still sad. now every time I want to set up Face ID, the message “Face ID is not available. Try to set up Face ID later” appears on the iPhone screen.
What conclusion can we make? If you unsuccessfully drop or hit your iPhone X, there’s a good chance Face ID will simply stop working. Why this happens. we will discuss below.
Dropped iPhone X. Face ID is no longer available [Solution]
I have long been trying to write an article where I would describe possible problems with Face ID on the iPhone X, XS, XR and their possible solutions. But somehow everyone lacked the experience and desire to seek information. And today, without expecting it, I faced this problem “face to face”. Surprisingly, this word turn has a double meaning here.
Today for the first time I saw on the screen of my iPhone the following message “Failed to activate Face ID on this iPhone”, and when I tried to re-configure everything. “The Face ID function is not available”. It’s a shame, damn it! But let’s talk about everything in order.
Face ID not available. still!
Of course, without Face ID, the iPhone X does not “turn into a pumpkin”, but it is not so convenient to use it anymore. Every time you pick up your iPhone, you have to enter a numeric password. And in the online banking application, you also have to remember passwords. But remember. THIS IS NOT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN LIFE!
You can still use such a device. Alternatively, you can sell this iPhone at a “sweet price” and buy yourself a new XS.
I, in turn, thank God for taking money, not health. The main thing is that the arms and legs are intact.
Write in the comments what led to the breakdown of Face ID in your situation. Share your repair experience, even if it was unsuccessful. I hope that soon an UPDATE will be added to the article with the result of repairing my iPhone X.
UPDATE My phone was delivered to Warsaw Apple Store. This is done by people who make money on it. The price of the issue is about 30-40. The most important thing at this point is that the iPhone has been successfully adopted by a tech worker. Apple support. This means that back I have to get a fully working iPhone.
At the same time, I want to remind you that I did NOT send either a check or a box with the phone. Actually, I never had a check. A little more than a month has passed since the dispatch.
UPDATE According to the latest data, the phone has been replaced with a new one. So Apple could not fix the problem with Face ID.
UPDATE After 2 months, I received a completely new iPhone X with exactly the same parameters as the previous device (the iPhone serial number naturally changed). The phone came in a film, wrapped in a soft envelope, without any accessories. The phone had a paper from iSpot (Apple’s official distributor in Poland).
Finally, I’m back with the iPhone. I won’t say that 2 months with the Galaxy Note 8 was a torment, but the iPhone is somehow more pleasant to use.
The experience gained above suggests that sometimes even Apple cannot fix a problem with Face ID, namely the state of the phone when “Face ID is not available.”. This is why they just change your broken phone to a new device.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, contact an authorized Apple representative and if everything is OK, your device will also be replaced.
Reset Face ID
If you find the iPhone X is not working and you cannot use it for anything like unlocking, shopping, etc. You can try resetting Face ID. It will delete all existing face data and set up a new face ID. Go to Settings Face ID Password Reset Face ID.
Take off glasses
Face ID is designed to work with many glasses, according to Apple. However, if you wear glasses that block certain types of light, the infrared camera can make it difficult to recognize your face. To avoid this, remove your sunglasses or contact lenses,
Ways to Fix iPhone X Face ID Issues
Face ID iPhone X Failed to Set Up
You can’t access Apple ID settings on iPhone X and get stuck at the recognizing interface. Double click will take you to the previous page.
Common iPhone X Face ID Problems
IPhone X Face ID Not Working
Face ID. the most attractive feature of the iPhone X, which allows you to unlock your iPhone without entering a password, use Apple pay and buy from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBooks, etc. However, some users claim that Face ID cannot unlock apps and the iPhone X is completely unresponsive when faced with the owner’s face.
Reset all settings
If iPhone X Face ID was unable to recognize your face even though you set up a new Face ID, there is another method you can try. reset all settings. It will reset iPhone X to its default settings without data loss. Reset all settings works for many iPhone problems such as Wi-Fi disconnect error, go to Settings General Reset Reset All Settings
iPhone X Can’t Unlock If You Wear Contact Lenses
Face ID cannot identify your face when you wear contact lenses. So it just keeps scanning but cannot unlock.
