images: getty/apple
Some iPhone users will soon be able to unlock their smartphones without needing to remove their face masks in public. There’s just one catch: it requires an additional Apple device. Apple is testing new iOS software that will allow people to unlock their iPhone’s face recognition security tool, Face ID, if they also happen to be wearing an Apple Watch.
Currently, Face ID recognizes when someone is wearing a mask and triggers the passcode entry screen to appear — an update Apple started testing in May. But the latest update, which is part of a beta test likely to roll out broadly soon, will allow an iPhone to communicate with a synced Apple Watch when the phone is raised to use Face ID.
tl; dr: If you have an iPhone and an Apple Watch, you can unlock your phone with your face, while wearing a mask. But you must have both. It's a test. It may go away.