In the keynote of yesterday we did not see too many surprises, since practically everything that was presented had already been filtered previously. It was, rather, a confirmation. The most important novelty, without a doubt , was the arrival of the iPhone X, the first Apple smartphone that incorporates a facial recognition system. They have baptized it as “Face ID”.

This technology is not new, and in the market there are already several smartphones that incorporate it. Anyway, in recent years Apple is not famous for innovation, is famous for making certain features become mainstream. They are the ones that take the trend to a massive level.

This attitude can be as criticizable as praiseworthy. Apple has been dedicated to refining features, taking them to their land and making millions of people use them. The iPhone market is so large that it often acts as an indicator that a functionality has been established.

 ” Out with the old, in with the new “

With facial recognition, surely, the same thing will happen. The LG G6, Note 8 and Galaxy S8 are some devices that already incorporate this technology. We can say that in the smartphone market is already becoming a regular feature, but Apple has the power to make this happen to the next phase.

To start, the three smartphones described above, in addition to facial recognition, all incorporate a fingerprint sensor. In the case of the iPhone X, they have bet heavily on this technology, completely eliminating this button. That means that in the next few months we will begin to see many people unlocking the phone with their faces.

This we could say that it is the classic Apple movement. Take, for example, what happened with the headphone input. The iPhone market is so important that eliminating an established feature (headphone input) and betting strongly on something already existing (wireless headphones) seek to push the market to a new standard.

This has happened again with facial recognition. A few years ago, the fingerprint sensor was the novelty to be implemented . With the arrival of the iPhone X, it would seem that it is an obsolete functionality and it has to be replaced by the new system.

It will not be easy, and it raises some problems

Although Apple has tired of ensuring during the presentation that it is a more secure system than the PIN and the fingerprint sensor, many people will not like to feel observed. That already happened with the previous smartphones, but with this feature it becomes more evident.

If facial recognition is the new standard, it would mean that, from now on, the devices should go to market with this technology. One can imagine the facial recognition implemented in cars, house doors or even weapons .

Someone could hold us and point the smartphone against our face . It is not difficult to imagine such a situation in countries where freedom of expression is conspicuous by its absence.

If we get used to a device scanning our face, in a few years we would assume that in most of the streets, airports, etc. there are devices that serve to recognize all the people who pass.

In fact, we have already spoken on many occasions how an artificial intelligence could even recognize us with its face covered . These advances can be very good in terms of security, ending terrorism, etc. although they could also be used to control the citizenship. As always, a great power carries a great responsibility.