Upcoming iPhone update will allow you to unlock using Apple Watch

[Humza]

Why it matters: TouchID and FaceID continue to have their own proponents, but the latter feature has become a bit annoying for iPhone users during the ongoing pandemic where they're forced to remove their mask or provide a passcode for unlocking their iPhone. Apple has previously tweaked FaceID to immediately prompt for the passcode if it detects the user wearing a mask, but it's still a so-so solution. There is, however, good news for those invested in Apple's ecosystem, as the company's upcoming iOS 14.5 update will let users keep their masks on, allowing them to unlock their iPhone with the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch has been able to unlock Macs for quite some time now, and pretty soon it'll be doing the same for iPhones. In the recently released developer beta of iOS 14.5, Apple has added an option for Face ID-equipped models (iPhone X and later) to unlock with a paired Apple Watch.

Engadget reports that the feature will need to be manually enabled before use, allowing users to unlock their iPhones while wearing a mask. It'll work by doing a partial face scan with FaceID and use the paired Watch's authentication as an extra layer of security to unlock the iPhone. The Watch, which needs to be unlocked beforehand, will then buzz to notify the user of this operation.

Users will also be able to lock their iPhones from their wrist. However, additional use-cases like App Store transactions and Apple Pay purchases will still require FaceID/passcode as before and won't rely on the Watch.

Other feature improvements with Apple's upcoming iOS 14.5 update include support for the latest Xbox and Playstation controllers, dual-sim 5G connectivity, enhancements to Siri, Fitness+, and roll out of Cupertino's App Tracking Transparency controls that have been lately causing headaches for Facebook.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/88485-apple-next-ios-update-allow-iphone-unlocks-apple.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

There was absolutely nothing faster than touch ID. iPhone 5s and 6 had touch ID and it worked perfectly.

iPhone 6s had an even faster touch ID which was so fast that they had to slow it down because people were touch ID-ing their way right past there notifications.

Removing touch ID for iPhone X was stupid. They could have moved touch ID to the back of the phone and made it the shape of the Apple logo. Most of the Chinese made smart phones on the market have that feature. My mothers LG Stylo 2 and my girlfriends Samsung J6 had it. If iPhone had both touch ID and face ID it would have been perfect. Now they have re-introduced touch ID on the new iPads using a scanning button which is also a great way to implement touch ID.

The pandemic only proves that we need to touch ID because otherwise we have to take off our mask just to let it see our face.

The one problem that I have with the touch ID and the possibility of having Apple Watch unlock touch ID with a partial face scan is the fact that someone could unlock your phone simply by forcing you to touch it and look at it without your permission.

There was a story of a young boy (Harrison Green) who forced his father to buy him lots of games on iTunes simply by touching his father‘s finger to the phone while his father was sleeping.

I wouldn’t want to give the police or any criminals out there the ability to get into my phone or into my computer if I were somehow under duress, coerced or arrested. I actually like the fact that if you enter the wrong code to many times it erases the phone. In fact I would like to see Apple allow you to program in a single erase finger so that this way if someone forced you to unlock your phone you’d be able to use that special finger to erase the phone before they can react to it.

 

[Freddie159]

There was absolutely nothing faster than touch ID. iPhone 5s and 6 had touch ID and it worked perfectly.

iPhone 6s had an even faster touch ID which was so fast that they had to slow it down because people were touch ID-ing their way right past there notifications.

Removing touch ID for iPhone X was stupid. They could have moved touch ID to the back of the phone and made it the shape of the Apple logo. Most of the Chinese made smart phones on the market have that feature. My mothers LG Stylo 2 and my girlfriends Samsung J6 had it. If iPhone had both touch ID and face ID it would have been perfect. Now they have re-introduced touch ID on the new iPads using a scanning button which is also a great way to implement touch ID.

The pandemic only proves that we need to touch ID because otherwise we have to take off our mask just to let it see our face.

The one problem that I have with the touch ID and the possibility of having Apple Watch unlock touch ID with a partial face scan is the fact that someone could unlock your phone simply by forcing you to touch it and look at it without your permission.

There was a story of a young boy (Harrison Green) who forced his father to buy him lots of games on iTunes simply by touching his father‘s finger to the phone while his father was sleeping.

I wouldn’t want to give the police or any criminals out there the ability to get into my phone or into my computer if I were somehow under duress, coerced or arrested. I actually like the fact that if you enter the wrong code to many times it erases the phone. In fact I would like to see Apple allow you to program in a single erase finger so that this way if someone forced you to unlock your phone you’d be able to use that special finger to erase the phone before they can react to it.

IF someone were bold enough to try and coerce you into forcing you to unlock your phone and you erased it what value does your life have to them anymore? I think you are going down a rabbit hole of you losing your life to protect the data on a phone. And what happens if your kid does what Harrison Green did but uses the wrong finger and the phone is wiped? If it's not wiped off the cloud too then the people who are coercing you would know that too and you would start losing body parts until you restored your phone.

 

[duckofdeath]

Unlock by touching the screen, the impractical Android way...
Unlock like you're inspector gadget, the "just working" Apple way...

 

[PEnnn]

"TouchID and FaceID continue to have their own proponents, but the latter feature has become a bit annoying for iPhone users during the ongoing pandemic where they're forced to remove their mask or provide a passcode for unlocking their iPhone"

You mean Androids don't have Face ID yet??? I am surprised Samsung et al didn't "borrow" this one from Apple as usual.

As to "forced to remove their mask or provide a passcode "....yeah, entering the 4-6 digit code is such a time consuming and day-ruining chore....