I agree with the original poster. FaceID has been much slower than TouchID. I have an iPhone 8 for work and it’s instantly logged in with putting my finger on the sensor and then it logs into our secure work EHR program as I’m taking it out of my pocket.
FaceID takes 1-2 seconds (I know, so long) whereas TouchID feels like milliseconds. On the iPad I’m often standing too close or too far or the camera is covered. While driving, I could place my thumb on the phone by feel to unlock. FaceID makes me take my eyes off the road for a second or two to pay attention to the phone.
I do like the bigger screen without the chin, but if they put the TouchID on the back, that may solve that.
Another difference between the phone and iPad is most users hold their phones much closer to their faces, whereas iPad users hold their iPads further away. I’m sure distance is a factor in face recognition.
I do agree that face is takes a bit longer, but it’s not prohibitively so. I’d speculate that’s because the face recognition is mostly done in software, whereas touchid is mostly hardware based
Especially under not so ideal weather conditions, Touch ID does not work (rain, moist surrounding). And of course, it does not work when wearing gloves (yes, I know that there are “capacitive” gloves that work with Touch ID).
I do not have issues with Face ID’s speed.
Still, I get that there may be situations when Touch ID could be preferred. But for me, it is the other way around. From November to March, Face ID has enabled myself to use my iPhone outside reliably which had not been possible with Touch ID.
I love Face ID I had a lot of doubts when I first got my iPhone XR, but it has worked superbly. Even with wrap-around sunglasses and a cycling helmet the iPhone recognizes me. Works fine in a dark bedroom.
I agree! – Face ID has been slower and less reliable for me as well.
Touch ID so rarely failed for me and was super-fast.
Apple Pay is now a pain (hold the phone over the device to pay, then pull the phone away to show it my face or try to hold my face over it, which really looks dumb and does not work!).
Was just showing a friend some photos in a bar (on my iPad w/ FaceID). I finally gave up and used the password. Sure it was a little bit darker; but the “two seconds” each time was a PIA. [[Was literally at the bar, having dinner, and stopping and showing the iPad my face every time we got distracted (and talked about things) was more distracting than typing in the password]].
Double-click the side button, authenticate with your face and then tap to the payment terminal. Once FaceID recognizes you, it will stay on for a while so you can tap. You don’t have to trigger FaceID while holding your phone over the terminal.
@jcarucci I am in agreement with you. I just don’t agree at all that FaceID is more reliable than the final iteration of TouchID I used. It worked with the lightest of touch, my finger in any orientation, and was ready and open by the time it was out of my pocket. It always worked. As mentioned, FaceID does not work at every angle, particularly with the iPhone (and almost never lying down unless held uncomfortably directly above my face), in direct sunlight either on your face or on the phone, and with lot of sunglasses, which is extremely annoying. When it fails, it takes much too long to get to the screen to type your password, so you are left just awkwardly staring at your phone screen.
Where I do find FaceID superior is in unlocking apps when I am using iOS, or when it is used in lieu of a password. That is an excellent experience. However, for unlocking the phone, not at least having the option of TouchID is painful. Though, I have found that FaceID has gotten a lot better than from its initial release, but I would not describe it as excellent.
I also do like it very much on the iPad and think that FaceID is a much better form factor for the iPad than for the iPhone (I typically use my iPad with a keyboard case).
Wow, I’m so you’re having problem. I love Face ID and think it way better than Touch ID. I especially love it on my iPad I never have problems with covering the camera.
FaceID worked for me from the first time I tried it and I’ve had very few issues with it. Sunglasses that block infra-red light will block FaceID. You can turn off FaceID requiring attention to get around this. This makes it less secure in that somebody could unlock your phone while you were asleep but the same argument applies to touch ID. https://www.macworld.com/article/3387623/how-to-use-face-id-with-sunglasses.html
I hated Face ID when it first came out. The sunglasses thing was a big deal as was wearing hats. It’s gotten much better, but I agree that it is still less accurate than Touch ID. I’d say touch ID probably works 95/100 times, but Face ID only hits about 80/100 for me. (Those are totally made up numbers using recollection rather than empirical data.)
My main gripe about Face ID is the need to raise the device off the desk in order to use it. There are plenty of times I just want to leave the iPhone or iPad flat on the table and check the calendar or something relatively simplistic. Touch ID worked great for that scenario, Face ID doesn’t work at all for it.
I was wary of Face ID when I got my iPhone XR, but have become a convert. I love it that even recognizes me when I’m in my cycling outfit with large wraparound sunglasses and a helmet! It works in a dark bedroom.
Face ID has improved over time on my XS Max and I really enjoy using it. I used to have issues when wearing a hat, and now I almost never do. The only times it won’t regularly work for me is when I wake up - whatever combination of sleep-face, bedhead and angle holding the phone while supine makes it near-impossible to unlock unless I sit up.
Looking forward to Face ID coming eventually to Macs.
So, I really like Face ID on my iPhone, much less on the iPad. Why? I think it is because I am left-handed. When I am using it with the keyboard quite often my hand is moving to touch the screen and obscures the line of sight of the camera to my face and it regularly fails. This is often for validations for passwords. So all of the FaceID lovers are you right handed?
I’m not use to starting dinner at 8:30! 
I had a lot of doubts when I first got my iPhone XR, but it has worked superbly. Even with wrap-around sunglasses and a cycling helmet the iPhone recognizes me. Works fine in a dark bedroom.