With the release of iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4, Apple will allow you to use your Apple Watch to authenticate and unlock your iPhone while you wear a mask. But if you want to try the feature now, you can, since Apple released public betas for iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4.
Prior to these releases, people who used iPhones with facial ID while wearing a mask could only unlock their phones by entering their password manually, which can quickly become an annoyance. But with the new updates installed, if your Apple Watch is unlocked (which is more likely if it’s on your wrist) and while it’s close, when you try to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask, you’ll feel a little noise from your Apple Watch and your iPhone must authenticate you.
However, there are some caveats to this feature. It only works to unlock your iPhone – it doesn’t work to authenticate items like the App Store or Apple Pay purchases. And you still have to manually enter your password on the iPhone from time to time as an extra security measure.
If you want public betas to test the feature, visit the Apple beta program website. Note that you need to install iOS 14.5 beta before installing watchOS 7.4 beta. And be warned that, being beta software, you may encounter unexpected bugs, crashes and performance issues. Install carefully.