誰曾想到，智能手機出現會導致手機通話減少？誰又能想象到，伴隨著聯網移動設備普及，印刷需求會隨之增長？誰能預計到，社交媒體會成為媒介消費的主要形式？

新技術發布以前在實驗室可以盡情測試，設想各種使用情境。但如果遇到意想不到的情況，自然也就難未雨綢繆。

所以，看看iPhone X引起怎樣的反響應該會很有趣。蘋果公司新出的這款智能手機增加了面部識別功能Face ID。用戶可以通過刷臉解鎖手機，不再需要輸入密碼或按指紋。

不少測評人士已經搶先一步，全方位嘗試了Face ID的功能。測試結果啊，怎么說呢，真是挺有意思的。以下是一些最好玩的例子。

Who would have thought that the introduction of the smartphone would lead to a decline in phone calls? Who would have imagined that the proliferation of Internet-connected mobile devices would correspond with an increase in printing? Who would foresee that social media would become a primary mode of media consumption?

You can test as many use cases as you can think of in the laboratory before you introduce a new technology, but naturally, you can’t prepare for the ones you can’t imagine.

So it’s with great fascination that the world watches the rollout of Apple’s iPhone X, which includes Face ID, a facial recognition security feature that allows you to use your face, rather than your thumbprint or passcode, to log into your mobile device.

Early reviewers are already putting Face ID through its paces, and the applications are, how should we say, interesting. Here’s a look at some of the most notable.

可能難以辨別雙胞胎。

美國媒體《華爾街日報》和Business Insider 分別請了三胞胎和雙胞胎測試Face ID能否準確辨別用戶。結果并不一致。《華爾街日報》的測試中，8歲三胞胎騙過了Face ID，Business Insider的測試中，雙胞胎沒能蒙混過關。

《華爾街日報》的記者喬安娜·斯特恩在測試報道中寫道：“騙過面部識別系統后，三胞胎感覺更多是興奮，倒沒怎么擔心兄弟可能打開自己的手機。”斯特恩認為：“Face ID仍然安全、快速、可靠，而且使用很方便。”

強光照射下識別效果可能不好。

《財富》雜志的科技與商業報道記者丹·雷辛格指出，iPhone X各種先期測評顯示，在光線明亮的環境下，Face ID的識別效果看來比預期好，但陽光直射或者光線變化的時候可能出錯。

生物識別技術專家凱文·鮑耶爾對雷辛格說，沒什么可擔心的。“當然，有些特殊環境下可能出問題，比如大中午的（美國加州東部）死亡谷或者什么地方。但如果正常日照下識別也能出錯，才會讓我驚訝。”鮑耶爾這樣解釋。

但光線極差時表現良好。

你可能會驚奇地發現，面部識別技術在幾乎漆黑的環境下還能識別。但要是知道Face ID識別的原理是紅外線，就會感覺正常了。

美國科技媒體CNET高級編輯斯科特·斯特恩在測評文章中寫道：“在接近伸手不見五指的房間里，僅憑iPhone屏幕發出的光線，Face ID也可以準確識別。”而后他又加了一句：“我們還需要做更多測試，看看Face ID的極限。”

可能無法識別戴著圍巾或者帽子的用戶。

跟美國機動車輛管理局對駕照相片的要求差不多，異物遮臉后Face ID就認不大出來了。美國科技博客Gizmodo的博主亞歷克斯·克蘭茨在文章中寫道：“要順利用Face ID解鎖，就得把圍巾拉到鼻子下，帽沿要高過眉毛。”他指出，冬天用戶可能（對這種硬性要求）感到不便。

對戴眼鏡用戶的識別效果不穩定。

CNET和Gizmodo都對Face ID測試了戴眼鏡用戶的識別效果。結果有好有壞：Gizmodo的克蘭茨說，系統只花了幾小時就讓“Face ID的模式適應了我臉上的大眼鏡”。他認為，Face ID需要時間學習。CNET的斯特恩說得更簡練：“我戴墨鏡不影響Face ID識別。”

不能自動解鎖手機。

別指望Face ID會像之前的指紋識別功能Touch ID一樣自動解鎖手機，那樣跨越力度有點大。CNET的斯特恩指出，為了避免誤用，“識別我的面部以后，手機只是‘準備好解鎖’。我還得用手指劃過屏幕才能完成解鎖。多花不了什么時間，但多出來的步驟意味著不會立刻解鎖。”

有時可能因為面部識別失敗，無法再使用Face ID功能。

和Touch ID一樣，Face ID如果未能識別面部，就會需要密碼解鎖，影響新功能對用戶的吸引力。CNET的斯特恩寫道：“嘗試Face ID解鎖失敗后，iPhone X有時會要求我重新輸入密碼，輸入正確的密碼前都無法使用Face ID。如果你用過Touch ID就明白，這就像手指沾水的時候解鎖失敗一樣。”

先期測評仍得到正面評價。

雖然測評者只能使用一天iPhone X，但大多數人都認為，Face ID幾乎適合現實世界中所有場景。

親自做了先期測評后，《時代》雜志記者麗莎·艾迪西克在文章中寫道：“無論我是在明亮的辦公室，在漆黑的屋里，還是戴上墨鏡，Face ID都很快認出了我。三星的智能手機Galaxy S8+可沒這么厲害。”

美國科技媒體The Verge的記者尼雷·帕特爾則換了一種方式：“好消息是大部分情況下Face ID很好用，壞消息是也會有失靈的時候。” （財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

Identical twins could pose a problem.

Both the Wall Street Journal and Business Insider tapped twins (and in one case, triplets) to see if Face ID could pass muster. Results were mixed. The Journal‘s 8-year-old triplets foiled the facial recognition system while Business Insider’s twins did not.

“The three seemed far more excited about defeating the system than afraid their brothers might one day break into their iPhones,” the Journal’s Joanna Stern writes. Still, “FaceID is secure, fast, reliable and very easy to use.”

It may not work as well in extreme light.

As Fortune’s own Don Reisinger notes, Face ID appears to work better than expected in very bright environments, according to various early reviews of Apple’s iPhone X, but direct sunlight or changing conditions could trip it up.

It’s nothing to worry about, biometric technology expert Kevin Bowyer tells Reisinger. “Sure, there is probably something in some extreme conditions—maybe high noon in Death Valley or something,” he says. “But I will be surprised if anyone had documented any large problem in normal sunny conditions.”

…but it thrives in extreme dark.

You might be surprised that facial recognition technology works in almost complete darkness—until, that is, you learn that Face ID uses infrared light to function.

“Face ID worked perfectly in an almost completely dark room, too, lit only by the iPhone’s screen,” CNET’s Scott Stein wrote in his review, before adding: “We’ll still need to do a lot more testing to see what Face ID’s limits are.”

It may not be scarf or hat-friendly.

Much like the DMV for a driver’s license photo, Face ID isn’t too keen on foreign objects blocking your face. “Face ID demands you lose the scarf over your nose or the hat pulled down past your eyebrows,” Alex Cranz writes at Gizmodo, noting that people in winter climates may find this to be a (necessary) inconvenience.

…and there are mixed reviews about eyeglasses.

Both CNET and Gizmodo tested Face ID for eyeglasses. The results were mixed: Gizmodo’s Cranz writes that the system took mere hours “for the Face ID module to understand the big planes of plastic in front of my face,” noting that it learns over time. CNET’s Stein was more succinct: “Face ID didn’t mind my sunglasses.”

It doesn’t automatically unlock your phone.

Don’t expect that Face ID will simply unlock your phone automatically the way Apple’s Touch ID did—that’s a bit aggressive. To prevent misuse, “The phone ‘readies for unlock’ when it recognizes my face,” CNET’s Stein notes. “The iPhone still needs my finger-swipe to finish the unlock. It’s fast, but that extra step means it’s not instantaneous.”

And sometimes, you can get locked out of facial recognition entirely.

Like Apple’s Touch ID, Face ID falls back on the passcode in the event facial recognition fails, muting the allure of the new technology. “The iPhone X occasionally asked me to re-enter the passcode after a failed Face ID attempt, then locked out further Face ID efforts until I entered the passcode again,” CNET’s Stein writes. “If you’ve used Touch ID, this will remind you of trying to use an iPhone with wet fingers.”

Still, early reviews are positive.

Though reviewers have only had Apple’s iPhone X for one day, most have come to the conclusion that Face ID delivers in almost every reasonable real-world situation.

“Face ID recognized me quickly whether I was in a brightly lit office, in a completely dark room, or wearing sunglasses,” Time’s Lisa Eadicicco writes in her hands-on early review. “That wasn’t so with Samsung’s Galaxy S8+.”

The Verge‘s Nilay Patel put it another way: “The good news is that Face ID mostly works great. The bad news is that sometimes it doesn’t.”