There are quite a few places around me that offer up support for Apple Pay (and Google Pay, Samsung Pay), but it's still not something that I see get used all that often. Not counting when I do it, of course. Up until very recently I had actually not ever seen anyone other than a friend of mine actually use it, and even all these years later it's still one of those things that when I do use it, people still seem pretty wowed by it.
My local theater just started supporting ticketless entry, and using an Apple Watch to get my ticket scanned is pretty revolutionary around these parts. It cracks me up every time.
Yesterday I was standing in line at a restaurant, waiting to get a sandwich made for me. The person right in front of me was a few years older than me, and he had someone with him so they were going back-and-forth in a conversation. While I waited I couldn't help but notice that he was preparing to use Apple Pay with an iPhone X -- which basically means he hit the button on the side a couple of times quickly, then waited for Face ID to recognize him.
This is something that I've run into more than a few times in the past. Back in April I talked about this a bit, asking all of you if you miss Touch ID at all. Face ID requires just a bit more attention than you'll run into with a fingerprint sensor, and that can lead to some interesting hangups.
For instance, this guy was having a conversation with the person he was with, so he kept looking at them, either turning his head completely or just looking at them with his eyes. Either way it was enough to make Face ID do its secure thing and refuse to authorize a potential purchase with Apple ID.
Face ID was working exactly the way it was supposed to, but he wasn't not a fan that it just wasn't working the way he wanted.
I can understand the sentiment, but only because Apple took away a perfectly reasonable option for biometric security with Touch ID and replaced it with only Face ID -- and a passcode that can be frustrating to enter when you're just trying to pay and be on your way. There are moments where I do still miss Touch ID, and I was living one of those moments vicariously through this person standing in front of me in line.
He got it to work a few moments later, paid, and was gone. While I could tell he was frustrated in the moment, he didn't actually complain about it, so I can't imagine it's something that will deter him from using Apple Pay (or Face ID for that matter) again.
I like Face ID, but I also want Touch ID back. Which is why I think that Touch ID, or a fingerprint sensor in general, should be the default option. It shouldn't be removed from the equation altogether. That's why I'm glad to hear that Android phones in the near future are apparently keeping their fingerprint sensors --even embedding them in the display-- while they work on Face ID-like features, too.
That's how it should work, as far as I'm concerned. A fingerprint sensor should be the default option (or the passcode, then the fingerprint reader, if you prefer), with facial recognition being just another option. I would use both. Would you? Let me know!