You can stymie iPhone X Face ID, but it takes work

NEW YORK — Apple is offering a nifty way to unlock its new iPhone X: Just stare at it.

Face ID, Apple’s name for its facial-recognition technology, replaces the fingerprint sensor found on other models.

How well does it work — not just technically, but in everyday use? After all, it’s much easier to align your finger with the sensor than to align your face with the phone.

The iPhone X costs about $1,000 — $300 more than the iPhone 8. Advance orders began last week and Apple is now giving delivery times of five to six weeks.

Apple says it will have limited supplies at stores for same-day pickup Friday, but you’ll have to get there early.

Many rival Android phones already use facial-recognition technology. Samsung also has an unlock feature that scans your iris. But the systems can be tripped with something as simple as eyeglasses.

While Android largely bases its match on a two-dimensional camera shot of you, the iPhone X goes 3-D. During setup, the iPhone guides you to rotate your head so it gets a more complete picture of you — analyzing about 30,000 points on your face, to be specific.

So if you’re wearing glasses, the iPhone still can recognize you using other parts of your face. Same goes for wearing a hat.

Also, Apple’s system continually learns. Each time you use your face to unlock the phone, it automatically keeps tabs on small changes, such as growing a mustache or simply getting older. With Android, you have to go into the settings to teach the phone’s face recognition to get better.

There are limits. If you shave your beard, it’s too big of a change for the iPhone X to be sure it’s you. You’ll need a passcode, but the phone should remember you the next time.

Costumes and disguises also challenge Face ID. In a test, a Santa hat was OK, but a Santa beard wasn’t. Nor did it like funny glasses and a fake nose. Winter clothing was fine, as long as the scarf wasn’t covering too much of the person’s face.

Face ID worked better than expected in bright sunlight. It also worked in the dark, thanks to the use of infrared sensors rather than just the standard camera. That’s important when you wake up in the middle of the night and absolutely must check Facebook or Tinder.

Apple says Face ID could be unreliable with twins and other siblings who look like you, as well as for children under 13 — though how many young children really need a $1,000 phone?

The home button is gone to increase screen space. Others that have done this have moved the fingerprint scanner to the back. Apple ditches it completely, so Face ID is the only alternative to a passcode.

PHOTOS BY MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ / ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press reporter Anick Jesdanun demonstrates the use of Face ID on the new iPhone X. In the top photos, the iPhone X recognized Jesdanun. In the bottom images, the phone did not recognize the reporter.