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The minimum expense on an Watch to be able to unlock my iPhone

Populus

Populus

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 24, 2012
6,256
8,731
Spain, Europe
Ok, so after a lot of whining and complaining about how the iPhone doesn’t unlock with a face mask on (which here is ubiquitous, and will be for a long time) and saying I don’t need an Apple Watch, and I don’t want to be charging ANOTHER device each night, I’ve decided to wait a moment and ask the community about which model I should buy to be able to keep unlocking the smartphone outside of my house with a face mask on, for the foreseeable future.

Here, the latest Apple Watch, the Apple Watch 7 is at 430€. The SE Watch is at 300€ and the Series 3 is at 220€. Apple retail prices. This is a lot of money for a device I don’t really need or want, because I already have a smart band that does what I really need from a wearable: Time, weather, alarms and notifications. But it doesn’t unlock my iPhone, sadly.

So, if I search on the second hand market, maybe I will be able to find some Apple Watch for as little as 100€ but I need to know if there’s a bare minimum (hardware or software wise) to keep in mind, because I only want it for unlocking my iPhone aside from the typical use: time and heartbeat and alarms and notifications.

Depending on your responses, I will consider buying an Apple Watch or not.
I really love the iPhone 13 mini, but the face mask issue is a big one.
Thank you
 
Last edited:
BreakingKayfabe said:
Man, I have to say that unless you find something really cheap for the bare minimum of the limited thing you need out of this product, do not buy it. I wouldn’t buy the watch just for the face unlock. It isn’t worth it to me.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Yeah that’s what I wanted to know, the bare minimum requirements, hardware or software wise, to use this feature. Because maybe a Series 2 is not capable of this. Or maybe I need the latest update of Watch OS which maybe isn’t available for some watches.

I know pretty well which iPhones and macs run iOS and macOS respectively but I have no idea regarding Watch OS or TV OS, because I’ve never been really interested on this products.
 
Mr.Blacky said:
You need at least a Series 3.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Trouble with Series 3 is, if it doesn’t make the cut for the next WatchOS and next year I’m required to have an updated watch to unlock my iPhone, I will have to buy another Apple Watch
 
I wear a mask for 9-10 hours straight on my job. The iphone unlock with apple watch is imperative for me. If you’re in a similar situation, get the latest model that meets your budget. Like you said, the masks aren’t going away anytime soon, and you’ll want a watch that will last for a while.
 
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Go with at least series 4 if you really want Apple Watch unlock feature, preferably series 5/6/SE.
 
Be warned. It doesn't work that reliable for me and it doesn't work inside apps, that uses face-id for autorisation. More often it works, when looking away (tells it is unlocked with watch), then when actually wearing a mask.
 
This thread makes me glad I'm still using an iPhone with TouchID. ;)

Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch when you're wearing a face mask or sunglasses - Apple Support

When you're wearing a mask or sunglasses and your Apple Watch, you can simply raise and glance at your iPhone to unlock it. Learn how to set up and use the feature.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

Unlocking your iPhone with your Apple Watch requires these devices:

  • An iPhone that uses Face ID (iPhone X or later) and has iOS 14.5 or later
  • An Apple Watch Series 3 or later with watchOS 7.4 or later
 
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Night Spring said:
This thread makes me glad I'm still using an iPhone with TouchID. ;)

Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch when you're wearing a face mask or sunglasses - Apple Support

When you're wearing a mask or sunglasses and your Apple Watch, you can simply raise and glance at your iPhone to unlock it. Learn how to set up and use the feature.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

Unlocking your iPhone with your Apple Watch requires these devices:

  • An iPhone that uses Face ID (iPhone X or later) and has iOS 14.5 or later
  • An Apple Watch Series 3 or later with watchOS 7.4 or later
Click to expand...


Yep. I just went from an 8+ to an 11 and it is a bit of a PITA with a mask. It actually works well once I figured out the the optimal way to use it but it’s still just not as quick and simple as Touch ID.

Hopefully masks will be behind us soon enough.
 
What would be cool is if Apple can add an under screen TouchID to iPhones and if FaceID fails due to a mask, it reverts immediately to TouchID instead of passcode. Under screen fingerprint sensors are not new technology anymore. Surely they could’ve added the Apple polish by now.
 
Significant1 said:
Be warned. It doesn't work that reliable for me and it doesn't work inside apps, that uses face-id for autorisation. More often it works, when looking away (tells it is unlocked with watch), then when actually wearing a mask.
Click to expand...
This is a good point. It seems to work fine for me, but my biggest gripe is that it doesn’t work when using ApplePay or inside apps. It is strictly just for unlocking the phone.

One not so well known feature is that you can tap Face ID on the phone to go right to the passcode entry screen, rather than waiting for Face ID to time out before it asks for your passcode.
 
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