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OnePlus 5 now receiving swanky Face Unlock update

The much-loved Face Unlock feature that debuted on the flagship OnePlus 5T is now making its way to the eight-month-old (former flagship) OnePlus 5.

It’s worth noting, however, that this isn’t the enhanced build of Face Unlock the firm detailed back in November that’s set to bring Face ID-like protection, but rather a clone of the version – which is susceptible to inaccurate readings – that was introduced on the OnePlus 5T.

OnePlus is aware that its current system isn’t flawless, so it’s put a number of safeguards in place to prevent it from being abused. If Face Unlock can’t authenticate a user after five consecutive attempts, for example, it will automatically deactivate, says the firm.

Related: Galaxy S9

For that reason, it should go without saying that until OnePlus is confident its facial recognition system is on par with Apple’s much-loved Face ID, it will not be able to protect data-sensitive applications, like Android Pay, banking services and password managers.

In addition to transporting support for Face Unlock, the upgrade bundles a slew of much-needed bug fixes and speed optimizations, as well as enhanced Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) for video recording, according to the comprehensive changelog (below).

Applications

  • Updated Launcher to v2.2
  • Updated Gallery to v2.0
  • Updated Weather to v1.9
  • Updated File Manager to v1.7.6

Camera

  • Enhanced EIS for video recording

System

  • Added Face unlock function
  • Applied CPU security patch: CVE-2017-13218
  • General bug fixes and improvements

The update is being distributed in stages. To check to see if it’s ready for your OnePlus 5, head into Settings, select About Device, then tap Download Updates Manually. Alternatively, you can always wait until you receive an alert prompting you to install the upgrade.

Have you had a chance to play around with Face Unlock on your OnePlus 5? Let us know what it’s like over on Facebook or Twitter @TrustedReviews.

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