John GruberI’m surprised the setup process for every new iPhone still asks whether you want to use FaceID with a mask when 99+% of people aren’t wearing face masks any more. There are lots of features that a small percentage of people use, but they don’t get asked in the device setup process.
toastedmilk@gruber maybe an Asia thing.
Connor Crosby
Laura Lis Scott@gruber Good thing though. People should be masking already. With all the mutant variants of not just covid, it’s a smart thing to do
ApparentlyDan@gruber Apple is obsessed with the safety of their customers, alright. Anyway, I’m masking again as the new season is beginning here in Chicago.
Robert Stribley@gruber I also think it’s wild that if you pass on setting up FaceID, iOS displays a constant, non-dismissable alert that you haven’t finished setting up your iPhone—even months later. Not cool. Arguably, a deceptive pattern.
Gretchen Anderson
Christopher Grande@chrisgrande @gruber I’ve dismissed it a few times and it comes back. Maybe because I didn’t take the additional step of actually starting to set it up. So, if you’re right, it ONLY goes away IF you start to set it up and cancel.
@chrisgrande @gruber I did just do as you suggested, which took two clicks in. Let’s see if it stays away. If so, thank you! Tho I still think they should revisit how it currently works.
@chrisgrande @gruber At least, I’ll know to click a level deeper next time then!
Mike Swimm@gruber masks are not going anywhere. Unfortunately.
James Grimmelmann@gruber I ride the subway to work and mask usage averages about 10-20%. So there is a substantial contingent that wears masks some of the time.
Fabian Pimminger@gruber that’s a very western/us-white-man-thing to say …
Tae Kim@gruber I still wear masks twice a day during my train commutes and Covid is spreading again. Think it's a good thing
Jeff Byrnes@gruber this is a good thing, esp. for those of us that still wear masks (even if it’s not all the time in public). Covid being roughly back to 2020 levels per wastewater data means masking should be encouraged.
Guillaume Ross@gruber I’m surprised it’s not the default. Guess it’ll take one more generation of FaceID for them to be able to do it without extra scans and taking glasses off. Then there’d be no need to ask.
Sloan Studio@gruber They should be though, especially with the current surge.
Thomas Cheng@gruber Think outside of the US. Still lots of people wear masks in Asian countries.
Dustin Westphal@gruber The 99% should be taking that as a hint.
Dan@gruber Apple knows something the world doesn’t? :P
Scott Frazer
Richard Diaz@gruber multiple reasons to stick to it now: masking, any fashion choices that limit visibility to the face, with an additional point of comparison for every scan as there will be 2 faces to match to.
Maybe the wording could seem odd, but the reason for it makes perfect sense, just like Touch ID allowed for multiple fingers.
Junio Anthes-Moody@gruber 99 percent of people aren’t wearing face masks -right now- The setup process Isn’t just for late September 2023 when COVID or other safety measures may be relaxed, but also for all the other times when people need to or should be wearing masks.
You said it yourself a couple of years ago that COVID might normalize mask wearing when people go out with a cold or flu, and lots of people have needed them for wildfires recently too.
Kaveh@gruber I think you’ll see it flair up and down with the seasons. On my flights last week, around 30% were wearing masks again, which is up from maybe 1-2 people earlier in the summer.
Robert Brodrecht@gruber I use a full-face CPAP mask (covers nose and mouth) and I think the Face ID with mask feature helps. Not always but every now and then when I wake up with my mask on, I think my phone lets me unlock when it wouldn’t otherwise. Even if it wasn’t intentional, it’s a good a11y win for folks with sleep apnea, not just COVID masking.
KatAuntieNYC@gruber Still masking here in NYC. I'm happy to hear that it's part of the setup, but what I really want on whatever phone I get to replace my iPhone 7 is Touch ID.
@NycAuntie Why do you want Touch ID? Honest question!
@gruber I use my phone a lot in the transit system. Touch ID is quick and easy, compared to messing with Face ID. I really don't want to enter my passcode in a crowded public setting. Touch ID is perfect.
TortugonalYou don’t need to enter anything with FaceID. You just use your phone. You don’t need to target any specific TouchID sensor—literally just tap anywhere on the screen while looking at your phone. I think your concept of FaceID is mistaken
@tortugonal How is that easier than touching the home button on my iPhone 7 and having my phone unlock immediately?
@NycAuntie To each their own. Most importantly, no number codes involved in either. With FaceID, no need to aim for a button—touch the screen anywhere. Mostly, functionally, it’s almost the same
knirirr@NycAuntie @gruber I’m looking to replace my 8+ and will probably choose a Pixel running GrapheneOS. FaceID is far too creepy for me to ever want to use it, no matter how good it is.
I’m waiting to see the Pixel Watch 2 first. What got me using iPhones was the Apple Watch; actually usable, unlike Android Wear of the time.
@knirirr @NycAuntie What’s creepy about it?
@gruber @NycAuntie that facial recognition technology has disturbing implications is, I'd guess, widely known. For example, this article has been doing the rounds recently: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/09/technology/google-facebook-facial-recognition.html
Personally, having such a camera built into an internet-connected device with a proprietary operating system and then having it watch me during the day is too much. It might be benign, but I'd never know.
Personally, having such a camera built into an internet-connected device with a proprietary operating system and then having it watch me during the day is too much. It might be benign, but I'd never know.
Ben Hale@gruber large portions of the non-US world still wear masks habitually.
Rob Shearer@gruber “Apple declares the pandemic over!” is the headline that gets written the moment they make that change.
Maybe 2023 was a reasonable time to eat that story, and punting on it does show a lack of courage…but I do get wanting to dodge the issue.
@rvcx The pandemic has clearly been over for a long time. Covid isn't over and I doubt will be over in my lifetime, but it's obviously no longer a pandemic.
Pria@gruber I’m not a professional clickbaiter. Perhaps “Apple declares COVID no longer a risk!”
There is something very weird about how masks just kind of faded away without formal recommendations. They are probably still sensible in some settings (eg hospitals), and have become a badge of the doomer cult, which intersects my online orbits more than antivaxers these days. But nobody wants to attempt that public conversation unless they have to.
@gruber (For the record, “less than 5% of our customers are using the mask feature”, or whatever the stat is, strikes me as a more-than-sufficient corporate side-step. Just hypothesizing about how “drop the mask thing” got shouted down inside Apple.)
FreediverX@gruber @rvcx
That is not the most helpful or enlightened take on this subject, John.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/signs-point-rise-covid-rcna103439
@freediverx @rvcx That’s not a pandemic.
Stuart Haas@gruber Replies are pretty amazing so far. No antivax crap. Try posting this on X.
@stuarthaas I can't think of a single post I’ve posted here that I'm less likely to post on X today.
Philip@gruber quite liked it, normalises the practice. If we get from the pandemic the practice of wearing a mask for a few days when you probably have a virus, that’s a win.
Saul Sutherland@gruber I deploy iPhones at work in healthcare environments. Using Face ID with a mask is a “have your cake and eat it too” when it comes to security without compromising convenience.
John Willis 🔰@gruber Here in Japan, it is ebbing quickly, but still over 50%. At my school, 80% of students and almost all teachers are still masking indoors - so maybe it is higher globally (in the iPhone market)?
Casper 👻@gruber
There’s a lot more in the Toronto region wearing them now. The setup is warranted.
There’s a lot more in the Toronto region wearing them now. The setup is warranted.
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧@gruber For the few times I still wear a mask (hospital, public transit) I like this option available. I bet a large number of others use it too
aronnelson@gruber Maybe they should be? It's getting bad here. I'm surprised people act like COVID (and other problems) are gone.
wlach@gruber Maybe they're looking out for the small minority of people who are still wearing masks due to being immunocompromised or other reasons?
@wlach Maybe! Another idea some have suggested is that masking is far more common in Asian countries — but that strikes me as a localization issue, not a global one.
El Brown@gruber Just got notified my area (Maricopa County, AZ) has stopped exposure notifications, although the option still appears in settings and lets you go through setup ‘til you get to location.
Tim Hadley@gruber In Asia, masking was popular before Covid. This is probably just the EN-US localization of an onboarding process that applies to all users.
gormster@gruber China?