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What? It’s about as seamless and transparent as it gets unless you consider looking at your phone Rube Goldberg-like. But hey you haven’t actually used it so you must know better.

If you think using a second device to gain access to the first device is “as seamless as it gets,” then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
 
This is a great idea but I just hope it works better on iPhone then it works with my Mac mini. I’ve had weeks where it’ll work perfectly and other weeks it feels about half the time. If it works I’m excited
 
Now here's to hoping it's more reliable and consistent than unlocking my Mac with my watch -- I get about a 60% success rate. Good, but not great.
I usually get better than 60%. I’d say it’s about 90% overall but still not good and definitely not to Apple’s “It just works” standards. If it doesn’t work this will be fun because many iPhone users aren’t to the tech level of Mac users so I can see Apple being inundated with complaints
 
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Get a Yubikey. It's now (since Catalina) simple to set it up as a smart card for logging into your Mac, and all other common Mac authentication dialogs (at least on Big Sur). Much cheaper than an Apple watch, although obviously not nearly as useful, if you need all that functionality. Since I started using mine, I now don't feel that having a biometric feature on a Mac isn't all that big a deal. You can also use Yubikey for U2F Web auth, as well as gnupg integration for password-less ssh access to remote systems. It supports OTP, too.
The problem with Yubikey is password managers don't support autofill with the physical YubiKey. You have to set up a virtual hardware key to use autofill.
 
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That's something of an irrelevant point. There is a difference between internal flaws to the key lock mechanism and the lock not being engaged.
its convenience over security which was my point. This feature isn't for people that fear for privacy. I'm sure they know what they're getting into by enabling this feature.
 
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I'm loving this feature, but not enough to install beta versions on my iPhone or watch. And the 2-3 times per week that I have to type in my passcode while wearing a mask is not super inconvenient, it's actually much much better than when I had to use TouchID :)

But I hope it will not take 2 months to release this
 
if you are using your Apple Watch to unlock your phone, then why don't the OP use the watch to do Apple Pay which doesn't require faceID.
 
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Okay, you go on about the convenience of unlocking your phone with your watch, but when it comes to using Apple Pay, you don’t use the convenience of your watch.

Do you like reaching into your pocket for your phone? Or do you walk everywhere with it in your hand?
 
This is better than what I've experienced I suppose.

I was under the impression that once I got the latest update, my iPhone would unlock with a mask on. It doesn't.

Not that I'm seriously complaining, but I thought it was supposed to work. *shrug*
 
A watch is kind of an expensive way to do that if you don't have it, but I'd totally get an airtag (if it's ever released) and pop it in my pocket to get that functionality -- if they can make it happen that way
wow - trust me right here and now, this will never happen. The security risk for that kind of option is insane and you would be crazy as Apple and for security matters to allow a bluetooth beacon to unlock the phone - never ever gonna happen.
 
Okay, you go on about the convenience of unlocking your phone with your watch, but when it comes to using Apple Pay, you don’t use the convenience of your watch.

But you *can*.

If you set it up. It did work for me, but I don't know if it's still setup. It was actually cool, whipping out my arm, clicking the face, and walking out. (With my groceries)
 
This is better than what I've experienced I suppose.

I was under the impression that once I got the latest update, my iPhone would unlock with a mask on. It doesn't.

Not that I'm seriously complaining, but I thought it was supposed to work. *shrug*
Many here like being able to manipulate security with Face ID and a mask. As far as I am aware, Apple does endorse this method.
 
But you *can*.

If you set it up. It did work for me, but I don't know if it's still setup. It was actually cool, whipping out my arm, clicking the face, and walking out. (With my groceries)

I understand that. And that’s how I pay for things, with my watch.

I just don’t understand why the tech video guy doesn’t do this.
 
I'm a little confused by this statement. I use my unlocked Apple Watch all the time to use Apple Pay in a store while I leave my iPhone in the car. Does this no longer work? Or are you saying if you're using your iPhone to pay for something, you still need to take your mask off? That would be a purchase with your iPhone, not your Apple Watch.
It still works. He meant that if you’d like to pay using the phone (which some people prefer over using the watch) and you’re wearing a mask, you won’t be able to authenticate the payment using this new watch-based unlock feature and would have to either remove the mask or use the passcode. Of course, like you I think in most cases the solution is easy: if you have an apple watch, just pay using the watch and forget about the mask.

In fact, that’s how I’ve used Apple Pay most of the time long before the Covid: with the watch. And I hadn’t even thought about the mask problem when paying with apple pay until a few weeks ago when I took my car to service: I had to use the iphone to pay because the cashier at the dealership sits behind an almost completely closed window and the only thing that fits through the narrow opening on the bottom is the iphone with no possible way to use the watch, (thank god their POS terminal is wireless, so at least the guy could easily move it closer to the window opening).
 
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I understand that. And that’s how I pay for things, with my watch.

I just don’t understand why the tech video guy doesn’t do this.
So do I. There might still be some times, however, when you do have no choice but to use the phone like I had to at the car dealership when I had my car serviced (see my other post for the story).
 
I wear the same style of face mask every day from Atoms (different colors) and after about the first few weeks of wearing a mask to work I was able to unlock my phone with Face ID reliably and use Apple Pay while wearing a mask (it's more then 95% of the time for me, and from a variety of angles). 🤷‍♂️
 
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