Oliver Haslam on August 22, 2017, 12:40 pm

iPhone 8 Face Recognition Will Work At Speeds Measured In “Millionths Of A Second“

A Korean report concerning the Samsung-made OLED display that will be used in Apple’s iPhone 8 claims that the 3D sensing facial recognition system set to replace Touch ID will work at speeds measured in ‘millionths of a second.’

This may allay some fears that the iPhone’s new authentication system would be too slow for users who have become accustomed to iPhones instantly unlocking via the Touch ID-enabled Home button.

Many had also questioned whether the new facial recognition capability would work well with Apple Pay, the most used Touch ID application beyond simply unlocking the device. With iPhones generally held away from the user and at an angle to allow them to interact with a card reader, many had wondered how well the iPhone’s camera system would be able to recognize a face in such situations.

Reports have already suggested this will not be a problem, and now the Korean Herald is also reporting that the sheer speed at which the authentication happens will be so fast, users will experience no issues moving away from Touch ID.

The Wall Street Journal has also reported that the use of infrared sensors will allow the technology to continue to work even in low light conditions.

Depth-sensing technology, generally called “structured light,” sprays thousands of tiny infrared dots across a person’s face or any other target.

By reading distortions in this field of dots, the camera gathers superaccurate depth information. Since the phone’s camera can see infrared but humans can’t, such a system could allow the phone to unlock in complete darkness.

Apple is expected to debut the technology as part of the iPhone 8 next month, with the device going on sale in limited numbers due to stock shortages shortly afterwards.

(Source: Korea Herald, WSJ)