Live out your super-spy fantasies with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 iris scanner

Learning eyeballs is quicker than fingers

The entire iris-scanning process takes only a few seconds. All you have to do is look directly at the phone and watch as the Note 7 looks deep into your eyes until a bar fills up to 100%. That’s it.

You should, though, make sure you’re somewhere with good light – bright but not glaring – so that no angry sunray comes between you and your phone at the magical moment of connection.

The eye’s the limit

Despite previous rumours going around about how only people with perfect eyesight need apply, we’re glad to report that rumours are all they are.

It’s perfectly fine using the iris unlocking feature with your contacts in or your glasses on, as long as you originally registered your eyeballs without any visual aids in. Assuming, of course, you don’t wear coloured contacts or something more unusual than that.

Samsung still ers on the side of caution and warns that it might not work for everyone every time. That’s not a huge issue, as PIN and pattern locks are still supported and are used as a back-up to the iris scanner, but it does mean you could find yourself in the embarrassing situation of trying to show off your new phone’s awesome feature and being letdown. Awks.

Unlocking in the blink of an eye

Unlocking the Note 7 via iris scanning is so quick, we had to film the process a whole bunch of times just to capture it properly. It’s pretty much as fast as a flawless fingerprint unlock.

If you’re not doing it right, the Note 7 will gently guide you to either move closer or back up till you get into prime position. The iris scanner’s pickiness should become less of an issue with time, as getting in the right position becomes second nature.

A Secure folder that’s literally for your eyes only

The Secure Folder is a new place for you to store all of your deepest, darkest secrets, and it’s unlockable with just a glance – as long as it’s a glance from you.

What it does is allow you to keep apps, photos and even your personal accounts within this separate folder that requires passing a second level of security for access – think of it as a door behind another door.

You can choose to use a pattern or pin, of course, but this is really the most perfect use of iris recognition.

Custom-eyes

You get to choose from a few different looks – varying from a feminine pair of eyes to a more neutral looking pair on your preview screen. You do have to wake your phone up before the mask pops up to prompt your unlook.

You can also choose to use iris verification for web sign-ins as well as verifying your Samsung account in future.