17 Best Smartphones with Face Unlock You Can Buy Right Now

Smartphones are evolving at a very rapid pace. While bezel-less 18:9 displays seem to be the new trend in the form factor of current and upcoming devices, face unlock is a feature that is slowly gaining traction, thanks to the iPhone X. While not as secure as a fingerprint sensor, unlocking your device with your face certainly makes things easier. If you’re in the market looking for a new smartphone with face unlock, well, fret not, as we’ve got you covered. Read on, as we bring to you our list of 17 best smartphones with face unlock feature that you can buy right now:

Best Smartphones with Face Unlock (2019)

1. Apple iPhone XS

The Apple iPhone XS is by far the best smartphone to buy if you intend to use Face Unlock as a secure measure rather than a gimmick to unlock your device. Sure, the device is the costliest device on this list, but rightly so, considering the technology that it uses. The Face ID on the iPhone X uses True Depth camera system which uses a bunch of sensors to create a 3D model of the user’s face made up of 30,000 invisible dots.

Buy on Amazon: (starts at Rs. 99,900)

2. Huawei Mate 20 Pro

The Mate 20 Pro is a pretty great smartphone with face unlock that you can buy. It’s one of the few Android phones out there that come with 3D face unlock feature instead of just using the front facing camera to unlock the phone. The Mate 20 Pro uses an iPhone-like facial recognition feature to recognise a user’s face in order to unlock the phone. It uses a 3D face-map to authenticate the user before unlocking the phone, making it a lot more secure than most other camera-only face unlock systems found in most smartphones.

Buy the Mate 20 Pro from Amazon (Rs. 69,990)

3. OnePlus 6T

OnePlus recently brought about a refresh to its previous flagship OnePlus 6, with the OnePlus 6T. While the new display with the teardrop notch, and the new in display fingerprint scannerr was the most talked about feature, it still has the face unlock feature that’s one of the fastest in the industry. Unlike Apple, the device uses the front camera for its facial recognition along with OnePlus’ security algorithms. From what it seems, OnePlus 6 has the world’s fastest face unlock, and in our tests, the feature did prove to be secure enough as well.

Buy From Amazon: (Starts at Rs. 37,999)

4. Poco F1

The Poco F1 is currently the cheapest device in the market which is being powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and Adreno 630 GPU and it brings a far better value for money than any other smartphone on this list. Unlike the likes of OnePlus 6 which only uses the front camera to unlock your smartphone, the Poco F1 also brings an IR sensor which makes its face unlock feature more accurate, reliable, and secure. The face unlocking here is also plenty fast.

Buy From Flipkart: ₹20,999

5. Asus ZenFone 5Z

The all-new flagship killer from Asus, the Zenfone 5Z, is a great device and possibly the cheapest smartphone in the market to sport Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 845 processor. The device packs in a 8MP selfie shooter up from which it uses for face unlocking. Much like the OnePlus 6, the Face Unlock feature on the Zenfone 5Z is pretty fast and it works fairly well, even in low light situations.

Buy from Flipkart: (starts at Rs. 29,999)

6. Realme 2 Pro

The Realme 2 Pro is yet another smartphone with face unlock that you can consider buying. The phone is one of the few smartphones that come with a face unlock feature that’s as fast as the one you’ll find on the OnePlus 6T. It’s definitely a treat to use since it unlocks almost instantly. The phone only makes use of the front facing camera to enable facial recognition, so obviously it’s not as secure as the face unlock you’ll find on the iPhone XS, the Oppo Find X, or other smartphones that use a full 3D scan of your face to unlock the phone, but it’s secure enough to be used as an everyday feature and it’s definitely fast enough to not come in the way.

Samsung is primarily known for shipping devices with the Iris Scanner, it has been shipping Face Unlock as well. While both cannot be enabled at the same time, the Iris Scanner is targeted more towards security while the Face ID is targeted for ease of use. Samsung’s implementation also makes use of the front camera only, but it’s still not as fast (or as consistent as the OnePlus 5T). If you’re looking for a more secure biometric option, the device’s Iris Scanners should serve you better.

Buy the Realme 2 Pro from Flipkart: (starts at Rs. 13,990)

7. Honor 10

Huawei’s subsidiary brand, Honor, has rolled out the all-new Honor 10, a budget version of the Huawei Mate 10. The device goes head-to-head with the OnePlus 6 and also comes with Face Unlock. While the base implementation is the same, making use of the front camera for face recognition, the device also comes with an integrated NPU that allows for machine learning. The system basically learns from multiple scans and makes the overall scanning process much more secure.

Buy on Flipkart: (Rs. 32,999)

8. Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+

If the Galaxy Note 8 isn’t your right size, the Galaxy S9 might be the one for you. Announced at the MWC 2018, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the S9+ are currently the best flagship phones out there. Apart from great rear cameras with dual apertures, the S9 also features one of the fastest face unlock on any Android device. The face recognition on this is the same which is present on the Galaxy Note 8, making use of the front camera on the device.

Buy from Amazon: ($719.98/₹57,900 S9; $839.99/₹64,900 S9+)

9. Oppo Find X

Oppo Find X is one of the most innovative phones which has hit the market in the last couple of years. The USP of the device is its bezel-less and notch-less, 6.42-inch Full-HD+ (2340× 1080p) AMOLED display at the front which has an impressive screen to the body of 93.8%. Oppo has achieved this feat by removing all the front-facing sensors and putting them inside a motorized pop-up module which is instantaneous and quite frankly cool. Oppo Find X also brings face unlocking instead of a fingerprint sensor. Since face unlock is the only biometric authenticator available in the device, Oppo has made it really secure. Unlike other Android devices which just use the front camera or IR sensor, the Find X brings a number of sensors including a flood illuminator, an infrared camera, a ranging sensor, and a dot projector, just like on the iPhone X. In the Android world, Oppo Find X has the most secure face unlocking mechanism.

Buy From Flipkart: ₹59,990

10. Samsung Galaxy A8+

Samsung usually reserves its best features for its flagship series, but the Galaxy A8+ is a sign that it is ready to enter the budget-flagship segment and tackle OnePlus and Honor. The Galaxy A8+ also comes with the face unlock feature, which makes use of the device’s front camera for facial recognition. And unlike what many people feel, the feature is actually much secure than Google’s Smart Lock.

Buy on Amazon: (Starts at Rs. 32,990)

11. LG V30

The LG V30 is the company’s current flagship device, and it packs in a ton of features. Apart from a fingerprint sensor, the device also features both a voice unlock and a face unlock feature. The V30 also packs in some serious hardware, all packed in an exquisite body waiting to be unlocked by your face. Also, unlike the Q6 that we will be talking about in a while, the LG V30’s face recognition is quite secure.

Buy on Amazon: (Starts at $749; Rs. 44,990)

12. LG G7+ ThinQ

LG has become one of the most-underrated smartphone makers in the last couple of years as their smartphones tend to go unnoticed. This year is no different for LG, with its flagship LG G7+ ThinQ which is one of the best smartphones in the market, not receiving as much press time as its competitions. LG’s woes aside, if you are looking to buy a flagship smartphone which also brings face to unlock features, you should definitely get this one. Not only the smartphone brings the top of the line hardware but it pairs it with one of the best smartphone cameras and the best audio experience out of any device.

Buy From Flipkart: ₹39,990

13. Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is big and powerful and one of the best smartphones with face unlock out there. With Note 9 Samsung has pushed its limits by packing everything you can think of in a smartphone which looks absolutely gorgeous. If you don’t want to deal with the notch syndrome which is plaguing the smartphone industry since the launch of iPhone X, you should definitely buy the Galaxy Note 9. One of the best things about Note 9 is that you are also getting fingerprint scanner and iris scanning along with face unlock.

Buy From Amazon: ₹67,900

14. Redmi Note 6 Pro

The Redmi Note 6 Pro is the newest entry is Xiaomi’s wide range of products in the mid-range segment, and possibly, the best till date. Apart from a controversial yet beautiful design, the Redmi Note 6 Pro packs in a face unlock feature that is embedded within MIUI, and thanks to its great front camera, the feature works quite snappy. But apart from speed, the face unlock on the device is quite accurate as well and it’s definitely a pretty usable implementation of the feature. You should check out the Redmi Note 6 Pro if you’re looking for a great budget smartphone that comes with face unlock as well.

Buy from Flipkart: (Rs. 13,999)

15. Vivo V9

The Vivo V9 is one of the rare devices to feature the ability to use your face to unlock your device under just Rs. 23,000 or $350. Concealed inside the notch is the front camera of the device that is used for Face Unlocking. Just simply go to the Settings and tap on the “Fingerprint, Face and Password” menu to set up the Face ID on the device. Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the quality of the sensor, Vivo is the sister company of OnePlus, so the V7+ essentially shares the same technology which is found on the OnePlus 5T.

Buy from Amazon: (Rs. 22,990)

16. Huawei P20 Pro and P20 Lite

Huawei’s P20 Pro is the latest flagship device launched by Huawei recently. The P20 Pro is the first-ever Android smartphone with 3 cameras on the rear, which steals the actual limelight, while the P20 Lite features a dual camera setup on the back. However, the front camera on both the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro is a 24-megapixel shooter, which makes it more than capable of capturing good selfies. The front camera is also a key component, which enables Face Unlock on this phone.

Buy from Amazon: (Rs. 64,999, P20 Pro; Rs. 19,999, P20 Lite)

17. Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1

One of the best mid-range devices that I’ve personally used, the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 is a great device that’s bang-on for your money. The ZenFone Max Pro M1 packs in an 8MP f/2.0 front shooter with Portrait Mode, while there is an upgraded 16 MP shooter on 6GB variant. The device recently received the Face Unlock feature via an update and in my usage, it works pretty well.

Note: Asus is expected to launch the ZenFone Max Pro M2 in December, so I’d suggest you to wait for the Max Pro M2 to launch before making a purchasing decision about the Max Pro M1.

Buy from Flipkart: (starts at ₹10,999)

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Bezel-less Smartphones You Can Buy

Unlock Your Device Easily With These Smartphones

Face Unlock is certainly becoming the norm these days amongst smartphones, and thankfully, the feature is present on devices of all budgets and sizes. While Apple and OnePlus currently hold the titles of the most secure and fastest scanners respectively, we hope to see more competition in the upcoming months. Let us know your pick of the above lot in the comments below.