Apple reportedly sacrificed its most innovative technology to speed up production of the iPhone X.
Since iPhone X was announced in September, experts have predicted that it would be Apple's most groundbreaking phone in years. Among its revolutionary features include an all-screen OLED display, wireless charging, rear camera with dual optical image stabilization and a very accurate face identification technology.
Face ID is so accurate that the process of making it is said to be slowing down iPhone X production.
Bloomberg reported that in early fall, Apple quietly came up with a solution. Unknown to the public, Apple reportedly told suppliers to reduce the accuracy of its face recognition technology, in hopes that this would speed up production.
Apple previously announced that the accuracy of Face ID is 1,000,000 to 1, a big leap from the Touch ID's accuracy at 50,000 to 1. If Apple indeed reduced the gadget's accuracy, it should still be far more spot on than its predecessor.
Bloomberg continued that the sensor was always going to be an issue. This kind of sensor worked perfectly well with Microsoft's Kinect controller, but that was as big as a book. Doing the same for a 5.8-inch phone that is just millimeters deep is an all-new different matter.
It was a near-impossible feat, and Bloomberg said Apple did not slow down to get everything right. It also put a lot of pressure on the suppliers, who were only given the typical two-year lead time.
Apple, however, dismissed the report. In an official statement, the phone company said the quality and accuracy of Face ID remains the same as previously announced.
"It continues to be 1 in a million probability of a random person unlocking your iPhone with Face ID... We expect Face ID to be the new gold standard for facial authentication," the statement continued.
Whether Apple's race to provide enough supply for the demand for iPhone X affected the highly-anticipated Face ID, the masses will have to wait a few more days to find out.
The iPhone X launches across 55 countries on Nov. 3, 8 a.m. local time. Pre-orders open on Friday, Oct. 27.
