If you’re wearing a face mask, unlocking your iPhone can be a real hassle \u2014 but Apple is fixing this in iOS 13.5. Also, I miss Touch ID.<\/b>
\nNow face masks are a thing across the world, we\u2019re having to adapt. While they\u2019re great for public health and fighting coronavirus, there\u2019s one way they make life tricker: Unlocking our phones.
Is this a big complaint in the grand scheme of things? Of course not. But little things like unlocking with a face mask do still matter \u2014 especially when they\u2019re a fucking arseache.
Thankfully, Apple has been listening. The iOS 13.5 developers\u2019 beta includes a workaround that will make unlocking your iPhone with a face mask easier. Well, when it\u2019s released to the public that is.
Reported by CNBC, the workaround involves users being able to swipe up to input their device passcode immediately. Currently, there\u2019s a short delay when an iPhone is presented with an unreadable face. Which is annoying as hell.
The update, when rolled out, will look something like this:
Of course, one option is simply turning off Face ID \u2014 something you can learn how to do here \u2014 but that\u2019s pretty annoying, especially if you want to use the unlocking tech at home when you\u2019re not wearing a mask.
But\u2026 do you know what could\u2019ve made this much better? If Apple didn\u2019t get rid of Touch ID on its flagship phones.
Look, I understand why Apple ditched the physical fingerprint button. As cool as the latest iPhone SE is (which has the old school Touch ID button), its screen is nothing compared to the gorgeous display we get with the iPhone 11 range.
Still, it\u2019s not like there aren\u2019t a million phones with an under screen fingerprint scanner.
Let\u2019s say that Apple has a genuine reason why an in-display scanner wouldn\u2019t work on an iPhone. Well, how about putting a fingerprint scanner on the side of the device? This technique has been used by Honor with its fantastic 9X Pro, Samsung with its S10e, and a range of others.
Honestly, when you actually use a side-mounted fingerprint scanner you question why everyone\u2019s not doing it. Hell, it\u2019s more convenient than Face ID whether you\u2019re wearing a mask or not.
I guess what I\u2019m saying is, Apple, come on, bring back a new version of Touch ID and put a fingerprint scanner on the side of the iPhone 12. What\u2019s so hard about that?
Anyway, as that\u2019s unlikely to happen, we\u2019ll just have to wait for iOS 13.5 before unlocking our phones with face masks becomes a little easier.
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Published April 30,2020 \u2014 10:32 UTC<\/p>\n