3D Printed Head Fools Android Face Recognition, iPhone X 'Impenetrable'
Forbes recently challenged a variety of smartphone face-recognition systems with a 3d printed head modeled after the author's head.
The head was printed at Backface in Birmingham, U.K., where I was ushered into a dome-like studio containing 50 cameras. Together, they combine to take a single shot that makes up a full 3D image.
The final model took a few days to generate at the cost of just over £300. With it, the author tested it out against four Android smartphones and the iPhone X. All Android phones tested were able to be unlocked with the fake 3d printed head.
If you're an Android customer, though, look away from your screen now. We tested four of the hottest handsets running Google's operating systems and Apple's iPhone to see how easy it'd be to break into them. We did it with a 3D-printed head. All of the Androids opened with the fake. Apple's phone, however, was impenetrable.
The Android phones tested included the LG G7 ThinQ, Samsung S9, Samsung Note 8 and OnePlus 6.
It's been long known that many implementations of facial recognition amongst Android phones have been less secure than Apple's Face ID system. Some of those face recognition systems have been fooled with simple photographs. Apple's Face ID, however, also includes IR depth mapping and attention awareness technology. The attention awareness alone may be enough to explain the inability for a static 3d printed head to unlock the iPhone X. That said, the iPhone X's Face ID has been fooled in the past with more sophisticated printed 3d heads.
Popular Stories
Apple regularly releases new firmware for the AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max, but the company has historically provided limited information on how to initiate an update. That changed today, and Apple updated its AirPods firmware support page with more specific instructions.
Prior to today, here's what Apple said on the subject:
Firmware updates are delivered automatically while your...
Update: Apple has released iOS 18.3.
In its press release unveiling a new Black Unity Sport Loop for the Apple Watch today, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.3 is "upcoming." According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple Stores are being instructed to update the software on demo devices today, so iOS 18.3 should be released either today or within the next few days.
Below, we recap everything new...
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner.
Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri ...
Apple today released tvOS 18.3, the newest version of the tvOS 18 operating system that came out in September. tvOS 18.3 comes more than a month after Apple released tvOS 18.2, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV HD models.
tvOS 18.3 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes.
While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
Apple today released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, the third major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 software that came out last year. iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 come six weeks after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iPadOS 17.7.4 for...
Apple continues to explore the idea of releasing camera-equipped AirPods in the future, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman only briefly mentioned the possibility of AirPods gaining tiny cameras, as part of his Power On newsletter intro this week, focused on Apple's future wearables ambitions. He did not explain what the cameras would be used for.
The tiny cameras would not be...
