iPhone X: Using Apple Pay With Face ID

Ahead of the launch of the iPhone X, people wondered how Apple Pay would work without a Touch ID Home button for confirming payments, but as it turns out, the payments service isn't too much different.

We went through the checkout process with Apple Pay to give MacRumors readers who haven't yet had a chance to use the system a look at just how it works.


To use Apple Pay on iPhone X, you will, of course, need to have Apple Pay set up with a credit or a debit card in the Wallet app.

When you're at a store that accepts Apple Pay, the Apple Pay process is more or less the same as it was with Touch ID, but some of the gestures are different.

When you're ready to check out, press the side button on the iPhone X twice to bring up the default Apple Pay card and authenticate with Face ID. Then hold your iPhone X down to the reader to confirm payment. If you don't want to use your default card, make sure to swap it out with a tap before your iPhone is next to the card reader.

The double-click setting that opens up the Wallet app should be enabled by default, but if it's not, you can turn it on by going to Settings > Wallet > Apple Pay > and toggling on the Double-Click option. It's a feature you're going to want to have activated if you use Apple Pay a lot, because it speeds up the checkout process.

Without double-click turned on, you'll need to hold your iPhone by an NFC-equipped reader to bring up the Apple Pay interface before raising it back up to confirm with Face ID, adding another step to the process.

All in all, Apple Pay on iPhone X is essentially as quick and as easy to use Touch ID once you get used to how it works, but it will take a few payments to become accustomed to the new process if you're used to the Home button.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

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Top Rated Comments

newtestleper Avatar
100 months ago
Super handy that you can "pre-authenticate" before the cashier rings it up on the terminal; makes the process way smoother...
You can do that with touch ID.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jakeowens Avatar
100 months ago
I think the pre-authenticate works well, but in general I find the process a little less smooth. Before, all I had to do was hold my phone my phone to the card reader with my thumb already on touch ID and it was instant. Now I have to double click, then wait for face ID to authenticate (Which is not always instant) and then tap. Just a few more things to do.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BlueCreek Avatar
100 months ago
I don’t find myself using Apple Pay anymore with my iPhone X, it just seems less convenient, also Face ID fails more often than Touch ID.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnediii Avatar
100 months ago
Pulling the phone out of my pocket, double clicking a button, holding it up to my face, then back down to the reader seems a lot more inconvenient that pulling the phone out of my pocket with my thumb already on the Home button for TouchID and moving it straight to the reader. This has worked flawlessly for me since my first TouchID enabled iPhone. I suppose we all have to get used to it after this year, though. Unless of course Apple pays attention and quits with this trying to force us into gimmicky tech that is not as convenient to use. But why should we expect Apple to change now, they've been doing this for decades.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
legacyb4 Avatar
100 months ago
Super handy that you can "pre-authenticate" before the cashier rings it up on the terminal; makes the process way smoother...
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miniyou64 Avatar
100 months ago
Lets make everything LESS user friendly so we can sell more phones with a gimmick. What has Apple become?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)