Apple hits back at iPhone X Face ID ‘downgrade’ claims

The company denies it has lowered the phone’s specification to increase production speed
Face ID: the front-facing camera is hugely important to the iPhone X
AP
Ben Travis26 October 2017

Apple has hit back at claims it is lowering the accuracy of its Face ID feature on the iPhone X to speed up production.

A report from Bloomberg indicated that the tech company was ‘struggling’ to manufacture the handset in time for its release on November 3.

The article alleged that Apple “quietly told suppliers they could reduce the accuracy of the face-recognition technology to make it easier to manufacture”.

Apple responded with a statement labelling the downgrade claim ‘completely false’.

“Face ID is a powerful and secure authentication system that’s incredibly easy and intuitive to use,” it says. “The quality and accuracy of Face ID haven’t changed. It continues to be 1 in a million probability of a random person unlocking your iPhone with Face ID.

“Bloomberg’s claim that Apple has reduced the accuracy spec for Face ID is completely false and we expect Face ID to be the new gold standard for facial authentication.”

The new iPhone marks a significant change in the handset’s design, with the home button removed and the screen filling the full face of the device. The removal of the finger-print scanner means Face ID’s 3D face mapping will be the main way users can unlock the device.

Pre-orders for the handset begin on Friday October 27.

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