Apple's new facial recognition iPhone unlocking tool failed in its first public demo

Apple just unveiled the iPhone X (pronounced "ten"), a premium new model that the company bills as the future of the smartphone.

To that end, the iPhone X ditches the iconic home button, and the TouchID fingerprint sensor, in favor of a new system called Face ID.

Theoretically, just look at the screen, and the iPhone X will recognize your face and unlock your phone.

However, in an on-stage demo, Apple Senior VP Craig Federighi couldn't get Face ID to work - forcing him to log in with a passcode, instead.

"Let's try that again," Federighi said on stage.

When it's working properly, Apple says the iPhone X will use a sophisticated infrared camera to map out your face, using artificial intelligence to verify that it's actually you. It's similar to Windows Hello, a similar facial recognition feature that Microsoft launched on its Surface devices back in 2015.

Furthermore, Apple says it enlisted Hollywood special effects wizards to help them test and secure Face ID. Federighi showed some creepy, extremely realistic recreations of the human face, saying that even those weren't good enough to crack Face ID.

Federighi says it's possible that another human on earth could have a similar-enough face to you to crack the system, but the odds are around one in a million.

Still, the burden is on Apple to prove that Face ID is both as secure and as convenient as Touch ID, which it seems poised to replace. If this first time at bat is any indication, Apple might have some work to do if it wants to sell that concept.