Apple will soon let you unlock your iPhone with mask on

iPhone users (iPhone X and above) have only Face ID as an option to unlock their smartphones. This has proved to be quite a hassle during the pandemic where we have to constantly enter the passcode to unlock the iPhone. Apple could offer a solution to that with the upcoming iOS 14.5 update.

In the developer beta version of iOS 14.5 spotted by Pocket Lint, Apple will give you the option to unlock your iPhone with your mask on provided you have an Apple Watch. Once you put your iPhone up to unlock it, you will receive haptic feedback on your Apple Watch indicating that the iPhone has been unlocked. Both your iPhone and Apple Watch will have to be in close proximity for this to work.

Apple will still require you to enter your passcode every few hours even when the feature is in use, The Verge reported. Your Apple Watch will also have to be unlocked for the feature to work. This isn’t something Apple is introducing for the first time as it’s similar to the Mac’s Apple Watch unlocking feature.

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In addition to unlocking your iPhone, this Apple Watch feature will work for Apple Pay as well. But for purchases in the App Store, iTunes Store and Safari password autofill, you would still need to enter your passcode. This makes sense since purchases and sensitive information can be at risk without proper authentication.

This new feature will be beneficial only for iPhone users with an Apple Watch but it’s still a convenient option since we’re unlocking our iPhones multiple times throughout the day. Apple plans to release iOS 14.5 in early spring.