iOS 14.5 Offers the Fastest Way To unlock your iPhone while Wearing Face Mask
Facial Recognition
As we are still under the middle of a pandemic where wearing a face mask is still required at all public spaces, and if you are using the latest iPhone 12 or past models which uses Face ID, then you might know that the facial recognition won’t work when half of your face is being covered in a mask, but Apple had released an interim solution where the upcoming iOS 14.5 update a new Unlock with Apple Watch features which can be found under the Face ID setting which allow you to bypass the annoying passcode request if you have an Apple Watch on your wrist.
Facial Recognition with face mask
Your iPhone needs to be running on iOS 14.5 while your Apple Watch is on watchOS 7.4 and your Apple Watch must have passcode enable and it needs to be unlocked when it is on your wrist. Once you have enabled the feature, the iPhone will check if you have an Apple Watch nearby then the Face ID sees a mask, the watch on your wrist will be authenticated and it will unlock the iPhone for you.
While for a better security, it appears that the feature will only work within a close range and if you are too far, it will request you to move it closer. For the moment, this feature is used only for unlocking purposes and the device will still require Face ID authentication for Apple Pay and App Store purchases.
iPhone 12 Pro unlocked with Apple Watch