Apple has released the beta version of iOS 14.5, and the headline change is one many iPhone owners have been waiting for: Face ID can now unlock your phone even while you are wearing a mask. The iOS 14.5 beta also fixes several bugs and adds support for 5G. Here is how the new Face Unlock feature works and who it is really meant for.
How iOS 14.5 unlocks your iPhone with a mask
The mask-friendly Face Unlock in iOS 14.5 comes with an important condition: it only works if you also own an Apple Watch. The process is tied to your watch rather than to Face ID working through the mask on its own.
Once your Apple Watch is unlocked, you look at your iPhone and the phone unlocks. When that happens, you feel a haptic vibration on your smartwatch confirming the authentication. The feature does not switch on by itself after you install the update, so you have to turn it on manually.
What the masked Face Unlock cannot do
Apple has been clear that this method has limits. Even with the feature enabled, masked Face Unlock will not authorise payments, and some other important tasks still will not work this way.
Because of that, the update is not equally useful for everyone. If you do not own an Apple Watch, the masked unlock will not apply to you. For iPhone owners who do have an Apple Watch, though, it is a genuinely handy addition.
Not the first attempt at the mask problem
This is not the first time Apple has tried to address Face ID trouble caused by masks. In May of the previous year, Apple released an update that made Face ID immediately ask for the passcode when it detected a mask, speeding up access for masked users.
- iOS 14.5 beta lets Face ID unlock the iPhone while wearing a mask.
- The feature requires an unlocked Apple Watch and must be enabled manually.
- The update also fixes several bugs and adds 5G support.
