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iOS 15.4 Will Let You Pay With Apple Pay Using Face ID While Wearing a Mask

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Apple yesterday released the first developers beta of iOS 15.4 with several notable new features. Perhaps the biggest is the ability to use Face ID to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask, without requiring an Apple Watch to do so. In another noteworthy addition, you can now also authenticate Apple Pay transactions while wearing a mask for the first time.

face-id-mask.jpg

With the release of iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 last year, Apple added the ability for users wearing a mask to unlock their iPhone when wearing an Apple Watch, eliminating the need to enter a passcode instead. However, while "Unlock with Apple Watch" allows users to unlock their device while wearing a mask, other features that rely on Face ID, such as Apple Pay and in-app authentication, do not work.
That will change when iOS 15.4 is released to the public, after which users will also be able to make Apple Pay purchases and use Face ID within apps when wearing a face covering. That said, Apple is warning that using Face ID with a mask is less secure, and the biometric authentication system remains "most accurate" when used with full-face recognition.

To enable Face ID while wearing a mask, an iPhone "can recognize the unique features around the eye area to authenticate," according to Apple. The feature in the first beta is limited only to the iPhone 12 and later, meaning users of older iPhone models will miss out. Alongside Face ID with a mask, Apple has also added the ability to configure Face ID while wearing glasses.

iOS and iPadOS 15.4 are likely to be released to the public later this Spring and include new emojis, an Apple Card widget, Universal Control, and more. Check out everything new in the first beta with our roundup.

Article Link: iOS 15.4 Will Let You Pay With Apple Pay Using Face ID While Wearing a Mask
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/28/ios-15-4-use-apple-pay-face-id-mask/
This "proper" unlock with FaceID and mask solution sounds fantastic! Being able to unlock the phone with the watch up to now was a great convenience step, hopefully I can use it to unlock apps (like my bank, or Outlook) without having to enter my device passcode.

Even better that it lets people without an Apple Watch use it too.
 
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Unggoy Murderer said:
Yeah, hardware / silicon limitations. How could Apple even dare to do such a thing? :eek:
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Every FaceID phone can use unlock with mask so why would it be a silicon limitation to allow this functionality to work with Apple Pay?

I honestly just pay with my watch so it’s not a big deal but it does seem off that it would be a limitation of the hardware.
 
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FHoff said:
Didn’t bother to read the first part of that sentence “in the first beta” I guess.
Click to expand...
It is not clear why Apple has limited Face ID with a Mask to the ‌iPhone 12‌ and newer, but there may be some differences in Face ID hardware over the years that allow it to work for some devices and not others in terms of reasonable security. It's also possible that Apple will expand Face ID with a Mask to older iPhones in future betas.
 
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I'm concerned that this compromises security. Wearing a mask obscures so much, if people already have trouble recognising someone, how on earth can one expect that a phone can do this way better? The next phone should better have both Touch ID and Face ID.

On the other hand... the WEF would rather insert an ID chip in the bodies of each and everyone of us with all the tracking options available. o_O
 
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Powerbooky said:
I'm concerned that this compromises security. Wearing a mask obscures so much, if people already have trouble recognising someone, how on earth can one expect that a phone can do this way better? The next phone should better have both Touch ID and Face ID.

On the other hand... the WEF would rather insert an ID chip in the bodies of each and everyone of us with all the tracking options available. o_O
Click to expand...
Sounds like it just allows you to authenticate payments rather than fully access the phone.

I'm fine with it and this needed to be available well over a year ago. I'm sure they'll be a toggle to disable it for those that want to.
 
Powerbooky said:
I'm concerned that this compromises security. Wearing a mask obscures so much, if people already have trouble recognising someone, how on earth can one expect that a phone can do this way better? The next phone should better have both Touch ID and Face ID.

On the other hand... the WEF would rather insert an ID chip in the bodies of each and everyone of us with all the tracking options available. o_O guessing Apple will release a technical note which will
Click to expand...
Once the feature leaves beta I suspect Apple will release a technical note characterizing and quantifying the effect on security, the same as they did when Face ID was originally released.
 
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AcesHigh87 said:
Every FaceID phone can use unlock with mask so why would it be a silicon limitation to allow this functionality to work with Apple Pay?
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It’s not been confirmed, but it is speculated that there may have been advancements with the A-Series processors that pose restrictions on iPhone 11 and under with Face ID.
 
iZac said:
…Only 2 years late, we locked down in January 2020.
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Are you a software engineer?

I ask, because comments like yours doesn’t indicate that we understand the full context of why this feature took as long as it did. I think we need to be open minded here.

The reality is, we don’t know if this was a hardware implementation that required tweaking advancements of the iPhone as it progresses with Face ID, just as much as it was software collaboration to make this feature possible. I’m guessing both had to come to fruition for this to be finally ready.
 
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Steve121178 said:
Sounds like it just allows you to authenticate payments rather than fully access the phone.

I'm fine with it and this needed to be available well over a year ago. I'm sure they'll be a toggle to disable it for those that want to.
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Yep, they appear to be limiting the mask detection to Apple Pay and Face ID within apps. Apple probably feels that if you were able to unlock your phone via traditional Face ID/passcode then it's acceptable to allow a less secure method if you need to use it again for an app, with even more leniency for Apple pay within some threshold like number of payments or amount $$$.
 
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But they still can’t unlock with Face ID from a horizontal iPhone…..

Meh. I have hardly worn a mask in 8 months.
 
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If you use an Apple Watch to unlock your phone while wearing a mask then it means you can Apple Pay with the Watch, no need to remove your mask, regardless of iOS or iPhone version.
 
apparatchik said:
If you use an Apple Watch to unlock your phone while wearing a mask then it means you can Apple Pay with the Watch, no need to remove your mask, regardless of iOS or iPhone version.
Click to expand...
I was about to say “no, this isn’t true, the Apple Watch only unlocks the phone, it doesn’t let you authenticate for Apple Pay”, but reading your comment again I think you mean “If you have an Apple Watch you can just use that for Apple Pay.” It’s funny you said that and I didn’t immediately get it, because that’s exactly what I do, lol.

But can someone clear this up for me? I understand they seem to have cracked the Face ID mask thing, but are they only implementing this for Apple Pay and for in-app authentication, not for phone unlock? And I’m inferring it is a feature you can turn on and off and this sentence isn’t phrased as a question but I’m ending it in a question mark anyway?
 
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