New Apple beta update fixes problem with iPhones and masks

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Apple's new iPhone software includes a fix for the problem of using an iPhone with a mask.

The latest iPhones use facial recognition to unlock, which means they can recognise their owner almost as quickly as they start using the phone. But it has run into issues with masks, which inevitably obscure the face and leave people forced to input their passcode to open their device.

Now Apple is offering a solution, by relying on the Apple Watch. If someone is wearing a smartwatch that has been unlocked and is nearby, the iPhone will unlock too.

A similar feature has long been in place on the Mac, which can tell how far away its owner’s phone is and whether it has been unlocked, and skip through the password if it is. It will work the same on the iPhone.

The feature has occasionally run into issues on the Mac, with users finding themselves waiting unusually long for their computer to unlock or not having it work at all. But the Apple Watch and iPhone are in continual communication, meaning it may be more reliable on iOS.

The feature will still require users to enter their password every so often. Purchases will still be protected with the password, and the phone will require users to enter the passcode every so often even if the Apple Watch is unlocked, just to check nothing has gone wrong.

Before the iPhone 12 was released, some had hoped that it would integrate an extra sensor – such as the return of the fingerprint sensor – so that people would be able to easily unlock it when wearing a mask. But the reality of iPhone production means that the design was decided long before the coronavirus outbreak hit, and that it was too late for changes to be made.

Rumours have however suggested that the upcoming iPhone could add a fingerprint sensor in its screen or elsewhere in the device. The latest iPad Air has a fingerprint sensor in its power button, which numerous commentators have suggested could work in the iPhone too.

In addition to the , the new beta also brings Apple’s controversial app tracking transparency or ATT feature. That tool will require users to consent to being tracked, and has led to a public fallout with Facebook.

Beta versions of the software are pushed out to developers to ensure that their apps work with the new software. A public version usually arrives soon after, suggesting that both features could be in the hands of everyone with an iPhone soon.