Comparison: iPhone X vs. Galaxy Note 8 biometrics

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in iPhone
Both Apple's iPhone X and Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 offer camera-based biometrics for unlocking your handset, but which one is better? We put both to the test in this video.





Samsung's Note 8 is bristling with security features including iris scanning, face recognition, fingerprint scanning and of course traditional passcode lock. That's a fair bit more than the iPhone X, which relies on Face ID and an accompanying passcode.

Face ID is billed as an improvement on its predecessor, Touch ID. Apple says Face ID is 20 times more secure than its fingerprint sensing technology, which is still in use on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Face ID is very convenient as it does not require any extra steps beyond swiping up to get to your home screen. Apple does not offer an option to instantly unlock the iPhone X without requiring a swipe, while Samsung gives does for both facial recognition and iris scanning.




The Note 8 also has a Smart Lock feature that keeps the device unlocked in various situations, like when it is at a trusted location or near a trusted device. The Note 8 can also detect when a user is walking and will stay unlocked until they set the device down. It can also be set to unlock automatically by just saying, "OK Google," but that convenience does raise security concerns.

Iris scanning and face recognition on the Note 8 do not work at the same time, so users must choose one or the other. Iris scanning is definitely the more secure option, but our tests found it's not as quick and convenient as face recognition.




The Note 8 fingerprint scanner can be used alongside either face or iris scanning, but its placement on the rear of the phone is not ideal. The fingerprint sensor is also right next to the rear camera, so until you get your finger placement perfect, users may find themselves smudging the camera lenses, and also holding their phone in a new way to reach it. If your Note 8 is laying flat on a table, you have no access to the fingerprint scanner until you pick it up.

Apple's Touch ID, meanwhile, has none of these issues, and neither does Face ID.

Looking at the setup process, Samsung provides a disclaimer with a long list of precautions stating that iris scanning, which uses near-infrared light, can damage your eyes. The warning actually tells you to see a doctor before using iris scanning if you have some health conditions.

Iris scanning has a number of limitations. Various screen protectors cannot be used, glasses can prevent it from working, and lighting conditions must be ideal. The Note 8 also has trouble when the phone is tilted too much or is moving, and users are told to avoid direct sunlight. Users must also take off their glasses or even remove their contacts when registering an iris.




The iPhone X's Face ID uses infrared light, so a doctor's visit is unnecessary. It also is not affected by screen protectors, so users can move their phone around and unlock in direct sunlight. As a bonus, Apple's algorithms compensate for glasses and contacts. It can even see your eyes and detect awareness through most pairs of sunglasses.

But how do they work in the real world? Let's put Face ID and Iris scanning to the test.

Both phones worked perfectly fine in the dark. I tried holding both phones at around the length I usually use my phone after picking it up off the wireless charger, and the iPhone X worked every time, whereas the Note 8 required me to bring the phone closer.

I tried both phones at waist level. The iPhone X worked every time, but the Note 8 fell short in this test too.

I tried to fool both systems with a photo of my face, and neither would unlock after multiple attempts.




After doing some testing with the Note 8's iris scanner, I noticed that my eyes actually started to hurt. I went online, and other users have also complained of eye strain after using the iris scanner.

The iPhone X's Face ID worked consistently, without issues. The Note 8 iris scanner wasn't as convenient, requiring me to move the phone around, and sometimes needing to use the fingerprint scanner or passcode to unlock.

Moving on to facial recognition, the Note 8 registered my face extremely quickly. It didn't ask me to rotate my face like the iPhone X did, which was convenient, but again raises questions about security and accuracy.

We tried both phones in the dark, and the Note 8 would not unlock, while the iPhone X worked fine. We tried both phones at arms length, and both phones unlocked. Holding the phones at waist level, the Note 8 started to have issues unlocking. Meanwhile, the iPhone X worked every time.

Since the Note 8 can unlock without having to swipe, getting to the home screen is in most cases faster than on the iPhone X. The Note 8 will unlock regardless of whether your eyes are open or not, so it's easy for someone to hold it to your face while you're sleeping to unlock your phone. The iPhone X on the other hand, has attention awareness, so it will never unlock if your eyes are closed.




We tried the test with a pair of glasses, and the Note 8 started to have issues, whereas the iPhone X unlocked every time.

I tried to fool the Note 8's face recognition with a photo of my face, and I actually got it to work. After I got the angle down, I was able to get it to unlock consistently. The photo was just a simple selfie I took on the iPhone X.

I went into the Note 8's settings and turned off "Faster Recognition," and after multiple attempts, I could no longer get it to unlock. But when I went to use it on my actual face, I could barely get it to work. I pretty much had to position the phone in the perfect spot to get it to unlock. And when it did work, it was very slow.

This makes face recognition without faster recognition enabled almost useless. And even then, someone could potentially use your photo to unlock it.

The iPhone X's Face ID works almost all the time. Face ID is not only reliable, but you can count on its security. No one, other than an evil twin, is going to be able to fool Face ID without getting a physical mold of your face and creating a sophisticated mask. In addition, Apple's attention awareness feature makes sure your screen won't dim and it'll lower the volume of alerts while you're using your iPhone X.

Face ID can also be used it to make purchases with Apple Pay and in the App Store, automatically fill in credentials in Safari, and unlock apps which previously used Touch ID. The Note 8 has Samsung pass, but we question the security of its facial recognition system. And even with iris scanning, it doesn't work as well or as reliably as Face ID.

Samsung devices have had facial recognition and iris scanning for years, but from our testing, it's obvious that the iPhone X's Face ID is far superior. It's not even close.
StrangeDays
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    Waiting for Samsung apologise in 3, 2, 1...

    Joking aside, this just proved the two companies have vastly different methods when it comes to offering new technology to their users. If Apple took their time to develop their tech to maturity, Samsung will throw the eggs and hoping for chicks to come out.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 26
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Sammy's iris scanning can hurt your eyes? Wtf?! 
    brakkenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 26
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member

    Interesting that the old photograph of a face still works for facial recognition on the Samsung. You'd think it would be the first thing they'd try to eliminate.

    Of course, you can stop that by making the phone almost unusable, or by giving yourself eye-strain.

    Any word on what the eye-strain is caused by? Is the iris scanner using visible or infra-red light?

    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 26
    silvergold84silvergold84 Posts: 107unconfirmed, member
    Samsung have iris scan and face recognition only after that Apple bought prime sense and that published patent of an iPhone unlockabke with the face . Ergo, they copied also from Apple acquisitions and patents 
    radarthekatredgeminipamagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 26
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    This article provides a helpful comparison, but would be far more useful if it were better edited. Early on, it says “both phones work perfectly fine in the dark” with regards to face scanning, but later on it says “We tried both phones in the dark, and the Note 8 would not unlock.” Early in the article, it says “I tried to fool both systems with a photo of my face, and neither would unlock after multiple attempts.” Later on: “I tried to fool the Note 8’s recognition with a photo of my face, and I actually got it to work.” The two contradictory examples can’t both be true, so which is it? That said, all the other qualifiers for the Note 8 (iris scanning hurts eyes, can be unlocked by others when you are asleep, is quite particular about conditions before it works reliably, fingerprint scanning in an unweildy place, and so on) make it clear only a fool would trust it, or think it is the equal of Face ID. Once again — like with Microsoft and tablets, and Android phones generally with OLED — the first to market is often superseded by those who take their time and get it really right instead of just a gimmick, and (astonishingly) that continues to be Apple nine times out of 10.
    radarthekatStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 26
    chasm said:
    This article provides a helpful comparison, but would be far more useful if it were better edited. Early on, it says “both phones work perfectly fine in the dark” with regards to face scanning, but later on it says “We tried both phones in the dark, and the Note 8 would not unlock.” Early in the article, it says “I tried to fool both systems with a photo of my face, and neither would unlock after multiple attempts.” Later on: “I tried to fool the Note 8’s recognition with a photo of my face, and I actually got it to work.” The two contradictory examples can’t both be true, so which is it? That said, all the other qualifiers for the Note 8 (iris scanning hurts eyes, can be unlocked by others when you are asleep, is quite particular about conditions before it works reliably, fingerprint scanning in an unweildy place, and so on) make it clear only a fool would trust it, or think it is the equal of Face ID. Once again — like with Microsoft and tablets, and Android phones generally with OLED — the first to market is often superseded by those who take their time and get it really right instead of just a gimmick, and (astonishingly) that continues to be Apple nine times out of 10.
    Sorry, this is a transcript of the video. Makes a lot more sense while watching. Apologies for the unclear article. The first part is about Iris scanning. Then Face Recognition later. 
    pscooter63radarthekatGeorgeBMacredgeminipawatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 26
    Iris-gate.

    I simply can’t believe that Samsung has released a poor-quality product and user-experience! 
    What is the world coming to?
    GeorgeBMacanomewatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 26
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Samsung security feature is garbage just like their technologies which work half or less of the times. What Samsung created was just gimmick because no one would use. If I own a Note 8, finger scanner is what I would use cuz at least it works even though it resides in a stupid location.
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 26
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    Samsung packs another half worked not useful feature to its flag ship smartphone. 
    bb-15watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 26
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    jungmark said:
    Sammy's iris scanning can hurt your eyes? Wtf?! 
    In every way possible, Samsung, with its Note models, is determined to be associated with the term, ‘It burns, oh God, it burns!’
    edited December 2017 Martin57brakkenGeorgeBMacredgeminipabeowulfschmidtmagman1979jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 26
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Why, in the name of God, would you include iris scanning if you knew it was harmful?
    redgeminipaStrangeDaysmagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 26
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    It can also be set to unlock automatically by just saying, "OK Google," but that convenience does raise security concerns.

    Right, but that’s only if it recognises your voice, yes?

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 26
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Why, in the name of God, would you include iris scanning if you knew it was harmful?
    Moreover, how was the approved by the FCC?
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 26
    Samsung have iris scan and face recognition only after that Apple bought prime sense and that published patent of an iPhone unlockabke with the face . Ergo, they copied also from Apple acquisitions and patents 
    Android had Face Unlock in 2012. Apple bought Primesense in 2013. So by your logic, Apple copied from Google patents but we all know that patents don't work like that.
  • Reply 15 of 26
    But.. but.. but.. Samsung was first !?!
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 26
    Everytime I read a story like this I think back to my days as an IT analyst/programmer...

    Some organizations would come to IT and tell them: 
    "I want you to create this and have it done by the end of the month"

    Others would say:  "Can this be done well?  When can you have it tested and ready?"

    One is profit oriented.  The other is product oriented.
    One is Samsung.  The other is Apple. 
    redgeminipawatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 26
    BluntBlunt Posts: 224member
    Samsung Galaxy Note Half Baked 8.0.
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 26
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    You’ll never see this on 9to5Mac or MacRumors. It would upset their main clientele too much.
    Rayz2016GG1StrangeDaysmagman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 26
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    lkrupp said:
    You’ll never see this on 9to5Mac or MacRumors. It would upset their main clientele too much.
    So very true. 
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 26
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Why, in the name of God, would you include iris scanning if you knew it was harmful?
    I don't think there is evidence that it is "harmful."  Since it's not using infrared (right?) I don't see how it could be harming anything.  It might just be that people look more directly at it or hold it closely.  That can cause eye strain.  It's unlikely the scanning itself.  
    muthuk_vanalingam
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