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Hands-On With the Apple Watch iPhone Unlocking Feature in iOS 14.5

Am3r1ca16 said:
is there a minimum apple watch/iphone requirement for this to work? i have a iPhone XS Max with a AW series 2 and i don't see the option. just updated to this beta. Was so excited for this feature. now kind of bummed out
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You’ll need a series 3 or later to use the new iphone unlock feature, because besides the iOS 14.5 update on the paired iphone you also need the watchOS 7.3 update on the apple watch. The AW series 2 stopped getting software updates last september, thus staying fixed on watchOS 6.
 
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MauiPa said:
Mine does too, when I’m not wearing my mask up over my nose like I’m supposed to
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The nose definitely seems to play a big part in Face ID, as when my mask covers my mouth and nose (as it should), Face ID doesn’t recognize my face. However, like in your experience, if the mask isn’t covering my nose, Face ID generally works fine. It’s actually a pretty fascinating case study in how computer vision, and specifically facial recognition, works.
 
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4jasontv said:
The biggest security risk is someone you know picking up your device with intent to access data. If the distance allows someone to look at your phone while you are powdering your nose than there is a big security issue.
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No there isn’t because apparently face id will still have to recognize the part of the face that’s not covered before it triggers the iphone unlock using the watch.
 
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balticgreen said:
The sentence is worded poorly. You can't use Apple Pay on the phone using the watch as the authenticator in place of Face ID. Using the watch to unlock the phone will only unlock the phone to the home screen, not authenticate for any sort of purchase (e.g. Apple Pay, App Store) or unlock individual apps that use Face ID (e.g. your banking app or something like that).

Using Apple Pay directly on the watch isn't changing.
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It puzzles me why the guy thinks of using apple pay on the iphone when he’s got the Apple Watch right there and it’s more convenient, though.
 
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Seanm87 said:
I mean its good and all but why did it take so long?
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It's only been a year plus into the pandemic. That's how slow the behemoth Apple has become.

shocking to me is that no Touch ID made it to iPhone 12, but is rumoured for iPhone 13 (20+ months into the pandemic), while an ipad air you unlock a lot less often outside does have a power button touchID
 
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dmylrea said:
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.
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It means the watch will only unlock the phone, it won’t authenticate any apps on the phone that have an additional Face ID scan.
 
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swingerofbirch said:
So now a thief can just unlock your phone just by stealing the top half of your face and your watch. Doesn't sound very secure.
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No, no. They have to just cut off your forearm that you’re wearing your Apple Watch on. They cannot steal just your watch or it’ll lock when they remove it from your wrist. Interested to see if any masked face will work out of it needs the user’s top half. Seems like they’d have to recapture your face for the actual user’s top half to be required, unless they are storing the actual points of the users face instead of a hash.
 
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dvanwinkle said:
No, no. They have to just cut off your forearm that you’re wearing your Apple Watch on. They cannot steal just your watch or it’ll lock when they remove it from your wrist. Interested to see if any masked face will work out of it needs the user’s top half. Seems like they’d have to recapture your face for the actual user’s top half to be required, unless they are storing the actual points of the users face instead of a hash.
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If they're this dedicated it doesn't matter because you will tell them the passcode. It's just meant for normal people who might walk off and leave their phone in a shopping cart.
 
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"...so there's no way to use it with an Apple Watch that has not been unlocked via the iPhone or by your Apple Watch passcode."

So you use the iPhone to unlock the Apple Watch, then use the Apple Watch to unlock the iPhone. 🤣🤣
 
blairh said:
Why would you pay with your iPhone when wearing an Apple Watch? 😂
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I only had to do it at the car dealership when I had my car serviced. There, the cashier is behind a window that’s almost completely closed with only a small opening on the bottom. My arm won’t fit through that gap, so using the phone or a physical card were the only options. It’s extremely rare to have to pay with the phone and not the watch, though.
 
I use my watch to pay at stores. I do not need to pull my phone out of my pocket to do this. You must add your credit card to your watch for this to work.
 
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