Things Youll Miss When Using an iPhone Without Face ID

Try spending a week using an iPhone without Face ID, and you'll quickly realize how it affects the way you interact with your iPhone.

Table of Contents

• 1. Phone unlocking is slower
  • Face ID or Touch ID is better?
• 2. Downloading apps is less convenient
• 3. Checking notifications takes more effort
• 4. Face tracking feature is limited

1. Phone unlocking is slower

The first noticeable change is how you unlock your iPhone. With Face ID , unlocking is seamless—you swipe up and your phone is ready to use. With Touch ID , you have to be more deliberate. Instead of just looking at your phone, you have to put your thumb on the sensor and wait for it to scan.

Face ID or Touch ID is better?

Most Apple users are familiar with Face ID and Touch ID, and some still remember Touch ID. But which authentication method is more effective?

Touch ID is fast, sometimes even faster than Face ID in certain situations (like when lying in bed at an awkward angle). But the difference is in habit. With Face ID, people are used to picking up their phone and unlocking it instantly. Touch ID requires an extra step, making the process feel more intentional than automatic.

Many people never really stop to think about whether Face ID or Touch ID is better. But after a week without Face ID, you'll know the answer.

2. Downloading apps is less convenient

One of the biggest surprises is how much you miss Face ID when downloading apps from the App Store. Normally, downloading an app is easy: Double-tap the side button, glance at the screen, and you're ready to go.

With Touch ID, the process requires a slightly different approach. Instead of just looking at the phone, you have to place your thumb on the sensor while holding the phone at the right angle.

If your hands are wet, sweaty, or misaligned, Touch ID will sometimes fail, forcing you to reposition your thumb or enter your passcode. It’s not much of a inconvenience, but it makes you appreciate Face ID’s ease of downloading apps.

3. Checking notifications takes more effort

Another subtle but noticeable change is how you interact with notifications. With Face ID, you can tap or pick up your phone and the notification will instantly expand to show a full message preview as it recognizes you, which feels seamless, as if the phone intuitively knows when you’re looking at it.

With Touch ID, notifications must be fully visible at all times (less privacy) or remain hidden until you manually unlock your phone. Since there’s no Face ID scanning to automatically show notifications, you have to press the home button every time you want to check a message.

4. Face tracking feature is limited

Going back to an iPhone with Touch ID also means losing some of the facial tracking features that many people have taken for granted.

Portrait mode selfies, for example, aren't as refined. Without Face ID's TrueDepth system, edge detection isn't as accurate and the background blur effect is less natural.

Even fun iPhone features like Animoji and Memoji don’t work the same way. Many people don’t use them every day, but it’s a reminder that Face ID isn’t just a security feature. Even Snapchat’s advanced filters aren’t as smooth.

With Face ID, unlocking becomes so seamless that you often pick up your phone out of habit, even when there's no real reason to use it. Without Face ID, the step of pressing the home button or entering a passcode is enough to make you pause and reconsider. But this small change helps you cut down on unnecessary screen time. Of course, this "benefit" comes at the cost of convenience. But if you want to be more mindful of your phone habits, the slight inconvenience of not having Face ID could actually work in your favor.