And Face ID doesn’t even need to be up and running

Nov 1, 2017 13:30 GMT  ·  By

The TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X enables not only Face ID recognition, but also a series of other gestures that wouldn’t be possible without 3D sensing tech.

One of them is the possibility of lowering the ring volume when looking at the device, which basically gives users the option to control the volume level without even touching the phone.

Basically, this means that if you’re using the iPhone X and someone calls you, the only thing that you need to do to have the volume level automatically reduced is simply to look at the device, obviously if the iPhone X is in your proximity and the TrueDepth camera can detect your eyes.

And the best of all is that Face ID doesn’t even need to be enabled, so everything’s working with minimal configuration on the iPhone X. This feature is part of a larger set of gestures powered by the 3D sensing cameras, and you can enable them from Settings > General > Accessibility > Attention Aware Features.

Accessibility features

Apple itself explains the new cameras provide more than just facial recognition for authentication, and the company suggests that more such functionality could be added in a future software update.

“Even if you don’t enroll in Face ID, the TrueDepth camera intelligently activates to support attention aware features, like dimming the display if you aren't looking at your iPhone or lowering the volume of alerts if you're looking at your device. For example, when using Safari, your device will check to determine if you're looking at your device and turns the screen off if you aren’t,” the firm says.

It's also important to know that Face ID can be configured to work only when looking directly at the device, with Apple explaining that those who are blind or have low vision are recommended to disable the option that requires them to look with the eyes open at the iPhone X.  This feature is available under Settings > General > Accessibility > Require Attention for Face ID.