Apple today released beta updates for iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 for developers and, included in the new software, is a feature designed to facilitate unlocking an iPhone using a mask, taking advantage of the Apple Watch.
An optional setting allows you to activate a feature that allows a iPhone to be unlocked with the face ID and an authenticated Apple Watch combined. You can find this setting by opening the Settings app, going to the Face ID and password section, entering your password, and then activating “Unlock with Apple Watch”.
Both iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 are required to enable this feature, and once connected, you can start unlocking youriPhone with an unlocked and authenticated Apple Watch while wearing a mask. The first time you unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch after activating the feature, you will need to enter a password, but after that, unlocking your Apple Watch is smooth, continuous and fast.
When wearing a mask and using Face ID, you will feel a tactile vibration on your wrist and be informed that your seuiPhone has been unlocked with your watch through a notification that appears on your wrist.
The facial ID will work normally on the iPhone, so you will only feel the difference on the Apple Watch, although there is sometimes a slight delay that says “unlock the PiPhone with the Apple Watch”. This appears to depend on the distance between the iPhone and the watch, and if the authenticated watch is too far away, you will be instructed to approach it.
Each time you unlock, you’ll feel the vibration and see the pop-up, and it’s usually an interface that looks like the interface that comes up when you unlock your Mac with the Apple Watch. Unlocking a Mac using an authenticated Apple Watch has been a feature for a long time.
You cannot make purchases on an Apple Pay or App Store with the Apple Watch, nor can you use it for authentication on applications that use Face ID. In these situations, you still need to remove your mask and use standard face ID authentication or enter a password.
For those concerned with security or possible authentication deviations with this method, the feature is completely optional and is not enabled by default. You need an unlocked Apple Watch for this to work, so there is no way to use it with an Apple Watch that has not been unlocked via the iPhone or your Apple Watch password.
In short, unlocking a iPhone with a paired Apple Watch is as simple as unlocking with the standard Face ID and is almost as fast, so this will be a welcome change for people frustrated with wearing a iPhone while wearing a mask. Future iPhones may include Touch ID on the display next to Face ID, but for now, this is a useful solution for iPhone owners who also own an Apple Watch.