When you restart your iPhone, you are forced to reenter your passcode to unlock your phone. If your phone is off, this prevents anyone with access to your phone from breaking in.
But with the latest beta (iOS 11 beta 6), Apple added this shortcut:
https://twitter.com/alt_kia/status/898067522234097664
In a nutshell, if you press the power button 5 times quickly, you are sent to the emergency call screen (as you were in previous incarnations). But in the latest beta, Touch ID will no longer unlock your phone, forcing you to reenter the passcode to regain access.
This is a smart add. You can make this move silently, even with the phone in your pocket.
I wonder what, if anything, this means for the future of Touch ID.
My guess: Apple has decided face recognition is better and touch ID is going away.
Outstanding feature but the five-times-quickly seems very difficult to get right with high confidence in a panic situation. Especially if the phone is in your pocket or a purse, which would most likely be the case.
Possibly and this feature will remain useful for the installed base for another 2-4 years. But it’s interesting that they are shipping a new feature specific to TouchID in iOS11 if it’s going away.
Is this specific to Touch ID? Couldn’t it work to disable face detection as well?
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Even though it’s not there yet, I would be surprised if the feature didn’t work with FaceID or whatever they call it once that’s released.