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

Inspector60 said:
You don’t need a watch! Just setup an alternate face appearance while wearing a mask. Using this hack for 8 mounts and its great (works better with fabric masks)
Click to expand...
How did you enrol a face with a mask to begin with? I tried that recently and FaceID said my face was obstructed and won't enrol that alternative face.
 
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chalupa_batman said:
I'd say like 20% of the time my phone unlocks when my mask is on. Not great
Click to expand...
I think it's more likely that the mask is made of a material that lets LIDAR's infra-red light pass through.
Infra-red light can pass through many materials - hence the creepy x-ray type photography. The case of the Apple TV is surprisingly transparent in infra-red.

I think it's unlikely to unlock with same part of your face covered my a more dense material.
Try covering the same portion of your face with a book.
 
I suppose this works if you don't wear a mask as well?

As a developer, I can ask the user for biometric authentication at any time. Does it work for these cases as well, or is it just for unlocking?
 
The Man in the video says he always uses iphone for APPLE PAY ... Why????

I never use iphone, I always use APPLE WATCH for APPLE PAY ... much easier and quickier
 
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.
Click to expand...

What's confusing? You cannot use the backup unlock mechanism in 14.5 to authenticate an Apple Pay purchase. It can only be used to unlock the phone.
 
MrCrowbar said:
I have mine set up so it buzzes my wrist every hour and half hour (absolutely love that "chimes" feature).
Unfortunately that stays on even when "bed time" is active and I wanna do sleep tracking with the watch. Turning the hourly haptic via menus is a little bit of a process.

So for sleep tracking I have to:
- turn on "bedtime" mode (it auto-activated do not disturb)
- turn on theatre mode (so I don't startle myself or the partner with the display going on)
- fiddle with settings or the phone app: accessibility > chimes

Does someone know a quick and easy way to turn on/off the chimes? It's not available as an automation unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Bedtime mode turns on automatically, and at that time display auto wake is disabled and both the watch and phone are set to DND.

So struggling to understand why you're undertaking that ritual each night.
 
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gnasher729 said:
I suppose this works if you don't wear a mask as well?

As a developer, I can ask the user for biometric authentication at any time. Does it work for these cases as well, or is it just for unlocking?
Click to expand...
No, it will only unlock unlock screen, any further authentification requested by an app needs full face id or password.
 
az431 said:
If it had taken a week and been full of bugs, you'd be whining they didn't take enough time.
Click to expand...

What a ridiculous response. You can't just take an extreme opposite. There is a middle ground. This has taken a year. Why not 6 or even 9 months?
 
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Face ID is still one of those features that has me hesitating to get a new iPhone. Touch ID just works. Hopefully they build Touch ID into the lock button like they did on the new iPad Air, or an under-screen sensor.

Also, for people complaining about not being able to unlock a phone with the Watch to use Apple Pay, why aren't you just using Apple Pay on your watch?
 
So for those without an Apple Watch I guess we are just SOL?
crazy!!

I’m waiting for iPhone 13 for Touch ID under screen until then 6s still working fine.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
Apple was probably working to make sure it could convenience didn't supercede security.
Click to expand...
Seems like it. Every device has a primary unlock mechanism based on "something you know" for initial unlocking. After that has been done, then the "weaker" alternatives become available.

Clearly, they thought a half-face scan was too weak a factor on its own even just for re-unlock. TBH it is hard to tout how strong their full-face scan is and then enable an option that is a strictly inferior version of that. So they figured out a way to strengthen it with apple-watch proximity as a second factor.

phone
  • unlock with something you know (passcode/password)
  • re-unlock with something you are (direct strong biometric e.g. fingerprint or full face)
  • re-unlock with something you have and something you are (proximity watch and weak half-face biometric)
watch
  • unlock with something you know (passcode/password)
  • re-unlock with something you have (phone)
macos
  • unlock with something you know (password)
  • re-unlock with something you are (fingerprint)
  • re-unlock with something you have (proximity watch)

The only inconsistency is that a computer can be unlocked based on only watch proximity, but the phone can not. That could be rationalized as a phone is more likely to be exposed than a laptop and more likely to not be in a full-unlock mode. All these alternative re-unlock methods are opt-in such that the end-user still has the ability to control what makes them comfortable.

edit: if the new phone unlock-with-watch really isn't checking any facial features, that is kind of disappointing. I then don't see a reason for not having implemented it earlier and hope they will improve it. Maybe not as it is no worse a model than the computer unlock with watch feature.
 
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apfelmann said:
The Man in the video says he always uses iphone for APPLE PAY ... Why????

I never use iphone, I always use APPLE WATCH for APPLE PAY ... much easier and quickier
Click to expand...
Funny thing is I never used my Apple Watch for Apple Pay until mask mandates made Apple Pay too cumbersome on my phone, and so I decided the watch was easier. Never going back to using my iPhone for Apple Pay.
 
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contacos said:
I just tested the feature myself and all it seems to do is "look for a mask" and once it does recognise a mask, it basically disables FaceId and just unlocks it. It does not seem to do any further scanning. Just tested it with my bf and he was able to unlock the phone without problem. Also the "FaceID scan" animation is no longer there, therefore I conclude that it does not bother to try to verify the face, once it recognises a mask is being worn. Everyone needs to decide for themselves if they take convenience over security I suppose.
Click to expand...
Can confirm.
My friend unlocked the iPhone two meters away from me.
so the FaceID doesn’t scan anything once recognizing a mask.

haven’t tested enough the maximal distance allowed to unlock yet tho..
 
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I'm stunned that the Macrumors demigod doesn't use his watch for Apple Pay. It's 10000x more convenient than grabbing your phone to pay!
 
I added two faces and I can unlock my phone with my mask on. You simply need to lower your mask a bit lower and it's working fine for me.
 
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