iPhone X and facial recognition

With the release of the iPhone X comes a lot of analysis about the security of FaceID. I have a couple of more mundane usage questions, with the caveat being that I didn’t watch the whole keynote…

  • How does it handle facial accessories:
    • How does it work if I put on my sunglasses? Or readers?
    • What if I normally wear glasses, but get a new frame with a different shape?
    • What if I’m skiing or snowboarding (or pick your winter sport), and wearing my goggles / a ski mask / a scarf, but want to use my phone?
  • What if I get a new ear piercing or nose ring or something?
  • What happens during Halloween?
  • Does facial hair affect it? What if I grow a beard or goatee, or even just get some stubble? What will happen to Movember??

I think these questions are similar to the wrist tattoo interference problems with the original iWatch, where real-world corner cases were not tested before product release. It will be interesting to see what kinds of real-world challenges FaceID encounters or handles well.