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Poll: With Face ID limited to one person, is this a downside compared to Touch ID?

With early reviewers finding that Face ID on the iPhone X is mostly reliable, if not perfect, the transition from fingerprints to face may not be too big a deal. But there is one clear drawback compared to Touch ID: you can only register one face.

With Touch ID, you can register multiple fingers – which can include a partner or child, for example – but Apple chose not to allow this with faces. The company told Mashable that’s because only a ‘miniscule’ number of people do this.

But that sounds odd to me …

My partner and I have fingerprints registered for each other’s devices purely for convenience. There may be times when a message comes in when we’re at the other side of the room, for example, and we can ask the other person to check it.

Talking to friends and colleagues, this isn’t unusual. Parents also have their fingerprints registered on devices used by their kids.

Given the disparity between our own anecdata and Apple’s statement, we thought it would be useful to get some numbers. Please take our poll to let us know whether you have more than one person’s fingerprints registered on any of your iOS devices, and how big a deal it will be to lose and option.

Please also share your thoughts and experiences on this in the comments.


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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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