No Face ID on Duo

What was Apple thinking removing Face ID from the Duo?


Posted on Nov 2, 2026 10:51 AM

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Posted on Nov 2, 2026 2:28 PM

Lawrence Finch wrote:
Another issue is the Duo is not as high as other models, and there was probably no room for the FaceID IR emitters and True Depth camera at the top of the screen.


The iPhone 18 Pro is 0.34 inches (8.75 mm) deep.

The iPhone Duo is only 0.21 inches (5.2 mm) deep when open.


And if you put Face ID into the iPhone Duo, you'd probably want it both on the internal screens and the external one – forcing you to find room for two sets of depth-sensing hardware.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 2, 2026 2:28 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:
Another issue is the Duo is not as high as other models, and there was probably no room for the FaceID IR emitters and True Depth camera at the top of the screen.


The iPhone 18 Pro is 0.34 inches (8.75 mm) deep.

The iPhone Duo is only 0.21 inches (5.2 mm) deep when open.


And if you put Face ID into the iPhone Duo, you'd probably want it both on the internal screens and the external one – forcing you to find room for two sets of depth-sensing hardware.

Nov 2, 2026 10:55 AM in response to MsDedo

MsDedo wrote:
What was Apple thinking removing Face ID from the Duo?

No one here can answer what Apple was thinking. However, with Touch ID you can unlock it either open or closed. With FaceID you could only unlock it when it was closed. Another issue is the Duo is not as high as other models, and there was probably no room for the FaceID IR emitters and True Depth camera at the top of the screen.

No Face ID on Duo

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