MacDirectory Magazine

Mike Thompson

MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.

Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1339792

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Here's How iOS 14.5 Lets You Unlock Your iPhone While Wearing a Mask BY JESSE HOLLINGTON It appears that Apple has come up with a rather ingenious solution to addressing the challenges of using Face ID in the face of the ongoing global health pandemic, as we saw in the first iOS 14.5 developer beta released yesterday. Although Apple tried to make things easier last year with an iOS 13.5 update that removed the normal delay that appeared before showing the password entry prompt, this was small consolation to those who had become used to the seamless authentication offered by Face ID — you still had to enter your password manually, you simply didn’t have to wait an extra second or two before you could do it. Needless to say, however, as the health crisis has continued, and mask-wearing has become even more prevalent, it’s become even more frustrating to have to key in a passcode — or worse yet, a full password — every time you want to unlock your iPhone while you’re out and about. Fortunately, it seems that Apple has been working on a solution, and it was actually kind of right under our noses the whole time — using an Apple Watch to help authenticate the iPhone user. It’s a feature that Apple Watch and Mac users have already been enjoying for over four years, allowing users to automatically sign in to a locked MacBook or other Mac as long as they’re wearing their Apple Watch. So, it’s no surprise that Apple has taken the same approach to help users unlock their iPhones, but with the feature having been available on the Mac for years, you may also be wondering what took Apple so long to bring it to the iPhone. How It Works It turns out it’s not quite as simple as just allowing you to unlock your iPhone automatically if your Apple Watch is nearby. Face ID is still very much a part of the process, but what seems to be the case is that Apple has modified the Face ID algorithm to turn to the Apple Watch only when it determines the user is wearing a mask. We’ve gotten our hands on the latest iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 betas and taken the feature for a spin, and it’s most definitely geared towards mask-wearing. The iPhone Face ID system still needs to detect your face, and it’s clearly looking specifically for a mask obscuring the bottom part of your face.

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