iPhone X-like Face ID features on Android smartphones 'stink': Apple's Phil Schiller

The iPhone X is no doubt one of the most best Apple smartphones yet, and among its highlights is the new Face ID feature. As is the norm, Android smartphone companies have been quick to replicate the Face ID feature. But if you think Apple is concerned, a recent interview by Phil Schiller puts those fears to rest.

In an interview with Dutch website Bright.nl, Apple’s marketing chief had a short review for Android smartphone companies’ attempts at Face ID - “They all stink”. Schiller further said that he isn’t surprised that other companies are attempting to replicate the feature, “Because when we do things really good, others like to copy us.”

“They don’t work in all the ways we need Face ID to work,” Schiller said. “We’re very aware that through the years the simple thing, this home button, that started as the way you click to get to the Home screen, grew into doing so many things for us. We added Touch ID, it took you to the multitasking screen, paged Siri, activated Apple Pay. All through this one mechanical button.”

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He added, “So for Face ID we needed the best way we know of to enable us to easily unlock our device with our face, in a protected way with the Secure Enclave, and support all these other things. We had to solve all of that. Other things that people have tried with face haven’t been anything like that. Face ID is a very unique implementation.”

Since the unveiling of the Apple iPhone X and the Face ID feature, a bunch of smartphone companies have tried to replicate it. The likes of Samsung and Xiaomi have opted for iris scanners as an added layer of security. OnePlus though has included a feature on the OnePlus 5T that is very similar to Face ID. That’s not all either. Even Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has adopted the feature for its premium View10 smartphone. The Chinese company claims that its feature is more accurate and seamless. It also recently showcased its Animoji feature that is clearly more advanced than Apple’s.

Apart from its uniqueness, Apple’s Face ID feature was also in the news because of apparent privacy concerns. But Schiller said that no third-party developer has access to the Face ID data. He also reiterated that Face ID is much more secure than Touch ID. During the launch event, Apple had said that hackers had one in 50,000 chance to hack Touch ID, but one in a million to hack Face ID. That being said, YouTube is being flooded with videos of people managing to fool Face ID by using masks.