Apple has reportedly loosened the accuracy threshold in the Face ID system in its latest iPhone in order to speed up production.The company has relaxed strict requirements about the iPhone X's 3D sensor system, which is used to unlock the phone, authorise payments and augment photos, ahead of the release of the handset next week, according to Bloomberg.When the iPhone X was unveiled Apple claimed there was just a one in a million chance the Face ID technology would allow somebody else into the phone, and that it had been trained to defend against silicon masks and other tricks. The one in a million error rate makes it 20 times more accurate than the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, which has a one in 50,000 chance of approving somebody else's fingerprint, so even if the technology is made less accurate it is likely to be a step up from fingerprint recognition.However, lowering the bar illustrates the difficulty Apple is having in meeting demand ahead of its release next Friday. The phone is a major overhaul of the current iPhone design, featuring an unusually-shaped screen, no home button, as well as the array of facial recognition sensors.Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities predicts Apple will have two to three million handsets available on launch day and 25 million to 30 million units for the holiday quarter, down from his previous forecast of 40 million. For comparison, Apple sold 78 million phones during the same period last year, although that included all models.
Apple reportedly reduces Face ID threshold
