Biometric authentication has made unlocking smartphones more convenient, but there is debate as to whether facial or fingerprint unlocking is a better solution. Many Android brands have taken a “don’t have both” approach by adding both facial and fingerprint unlocking to their devices, but no one is doing it right with Google’s Pixel. only.
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Fingerprint unlock has been available on Android for about a decade, and Apple has offered it since 2013 with the iPhone 5S. But while the iPhone moved to “Face ID” a few years ago, Android still relies on the fingerprint sensor, which is now mounted under the display. Which one is “better” comes down to preference, but I’ve never seen a smartphone that actually integrates both.
The main reason for this is that doing both properly is prohibitively expensive. The fingerprint sensor is, of course, a hardware component dedicated to recognizing fingerprints. It has no other purpose. On the iPhone (and Google’s Pixel 4 series), an array of cameras, sensors, and IR projectors work to ensure that facial recognition is not only accurate, but reliable and secure. Anyone with a camera can perform facial recognition, but it has been shown time and time again to be horribly unstable.
Despite the insecure nature of camera-based facial recognition locks, that doesn’t prevent many Android brands from offering this feature. This has been offered by OnePlus and Samsung for years, but not really. as It used to be insecure, but it’s still not enough to be considered secure by Android. So all this can do is unlock your device. If your app requires secure unlocking, such as financial apps, Google Wallet, or password managers, use your fingerprint instead.
The only exception to this rule is the Google Pixel 8 series. So Google has created a face unlock lock that’s secure enough for these apps, using sophisticated software tricks and a selfie camera with autofocus (annoyingly rare on Android phones), while also adding an optical fingerprint scanner. We also offer
This alone is reason enough why Google is the only one to get this combination right, but there’s more to it.
Here’s my experience using both face and fingerprint unlock on my Pixel. Method Better than other devices. This is what I was reminded of while using the OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which I recently reviewed. Face unlock and fingerprint unlock do not work together on these devices. they fight each other.
As I said in both reviews:
If you have both turned on, your phone will respond to the first one it recognizes. However, when you reach for the fingerprint sensor and activate facial unlock, your fingerprint won’t work. This means you have to switch to swipe to unlock your device. That’s pretty frustrating!
This often stops the unlock process completely. It’s a minor inconvenience in reality, but one that doesn’t need to exist.
why?
Because Pixel has shown that it can do this better.
On Pixel, face unlock and fingerprint unlock work in perfect harmony. Once the user is recognized using the fingerprint sensor, you’re done. But if the facial unlock recognizes you first, the area where you use the fingerprint sensor will turn into a button and the phone will unlock as well. Completely seamless.
Should OnePlus and Samsung just copy Google’s implementation? That would be a better experience, but I would argue they shouldn’t. That’s because, unlike Google, facial unlocking on OnePlus and Galaxy devices is still inherently insecure. So that swipe serves as a reminder that you should use your fingers when accessing secure apps.
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