Passwordless Hello

About a month ago I attached a Windows Hello fingerprint reader to an Asus Laptop from 2018. Now my fingerprint allows me to login. I want to do as much as I can without passwords. I have a Fido2 usb key for two factor authentication on some websites. I am sold on reducing the complexity of remembering passwords.

However, I do note that my 2018 laptop didn’t come with Windows Hello built in. No camera that does face id. No fingerprint reader. Back in 2015 my Lumia 950 was doing a basic form of face id. It was perpetually in “beta” but it did work a lot of the time. Every Surface has shipped with Windows Hello. This should be built in and mainstream on the PC.

As I look at the PC landscape the manufacturers haven’t really taken up passwordless options. It will take Apple to put face id into its Mac range to wake up the PC manufacturers. Surface didn’t seem to provide the innovation kickstart to get us to universal biometric login. I think if you buy a premium PC in 2020 you should expect a biometric login to secure your device.