I returned to iOS last year right before all hell broke loose with the pandemic. One of my favorite features upon getting an iPhone 11 was Face ID — while I’ve never had an issue using a fingerprint scanner on any phone, being able to look at a device and have it unlock is pretty darn cool and really darn convenient.
Now we live in a world where you have to wear masks out in public. I’m not against this because I would prefer not to catch COVID or spread it to anyone should I ever be an asymptomatic carrier, but it kind of puts a whole dent in the “look at your phone to unlock it” thing. Since then, there has naturally been a call for Apple to release an iPhone that features both Face ID and Touch ID. It didn’t happen with the iPhone 12, but who knows what the future holds.
In the meantime, Apple has been doing their best to try and work their way past everyone having their face covered. It started with a feature in iOS that bypasses attempting to use Face ID if you’re wearing a mask and then immediately prompting for a passcode. I’ve had very mixed results with this feature. But now Apple is trying again.
Today, Apple seeded out the iOS 14.5 Developer Beta and with is comes a feature that lets you unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch if it detects that you’re wearing a mask.
Before I dive into this, let’s get one thing out of the way: this is less secure than just using Face ID. That being said, this is a feature that’s been available on macOS for a while now and I’ve always been a fan of using it. Furthermore, when I was a part of the Android ecosystem, there was a time where Google let you set “trusted devices” that could keep your phone unlocked as long as it was still on your person. This was a feature I enjoyed taking advantage of, full well knowing the security trade offs.
So what do I think about what Apple’s doing?
The truth is, I’m not really sure yet. I’ll need to try out the feature when iOS 14.5 officially releases to the public (I only have one iPhone so I’m not on the beta track year round). I think that it’s a really cool idea that solves a problem that exists in the world and won’t be going away in the United States (and some other parts of the world) any time soon. But I can’t help but wonder just how effective this feature will be.
Like I said, I’ve had issues in the past with bypassing Face ID automatically when wearing a mask…in fact, I can’t remember the last time it worked properly for me. I can’t say for sure that the code is even still there. Apple could potentially just give this feature a bit more wiggle room to determine if it “detects that you’re wearing a mask” or not.
Apple is making some security moves that I really appreciate with this feature, though.
When you buy apps on the App Store, use Apple Pay in-stores, send money via Apple Pay, etc, you need to use Face ID. The way Apple has this feature set up, it is only for unlocking your phone, not for doing anything financial. That means that even if someone rips your iPhone out of your hand, they might be able to get into your text messages but they won’t be able to spend your money.
Naturally I’ll try this feature out when it releases and I hope that the real-world application is better than Apple’s last attempt. Regardless, I’m glad to see they’re trying to come up with solutions for a problem that won’t exist forever, but also isn’t moving out of society too quickly.
What do you think of Apple’s upcoming Apple Watch Face ID mask workaround? Let’s keep the conversation going down in the comments below!
Dan Stransky 