Windows Hello, It's One Of Those Things

So I’ve been using the Lumia 950 for a bit now and one of its features is Windows Hello. Windows Hello allows you to unlock the device using the 950’s front facing camera and your irises. After initial setup, which is super simple, you simply bring the phone up to your face and look at it. Windows Hello can even learn your eyes with glasses on or off. In my testing, unlock times vary as the camera adjusts to make sure it is you, unlocking can happen instantly or take a few seconds. The feature is still in beta and the Windows team is working on some performance and whatever bug issues we guinea pigs report.

https://youtu.be/dx0wni5HgV0

Windows Hello is… well, it’s one of those things. One of those things you don’t absolutely need and you’re bound to think is kind of gimmicky, that is until you use it. I admit, the first time I used it I felt a little silly with the 950 in my face. But if you think about it, after you unlock the phone it’s in your face anyway. Windows Hello is one of those things argumentative iPhone and Android users will mock and call stupid and that’s mostly because they’ve not used it. If you remember, there was a time fingerprint scanners were mocked and called ridiculous, Motorola’s Atrix found that out. Now the Nexus 6P and the iPhone 6s models have fingerprint scanners and they’re becoming widely accepted.

I admittedly went into testing the Lumia 950 with deep doubts about Windows Hello but it has become one of my favorite features of this phone. Yes there are some bugs, like Windows Hello not recognizing my eyes then asking for a pin but unlocking the phone without a pin anyway. But the feature is still in beta, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Windows team can improve on the feature and make it even better. Yeah, Windows Hello, it’s one of those things.

EDIT: No Android Face Unlock from the ICS days is not the same as Windows Hello, now put away your fanboy.