iPhone Face ID While Wearing A Mask Is Available In iOS 15.4 Beta 1
The iPhone might finally be getting the ability to recognize its owner even if they are wearing a mask, a feature that Apple owners have been sorely lacking in the midst of the global pandemic. This unfortunate turn of events has made it easier for iPhone SE owners to unlock their phones than those that spent much more to buy a flagship iPhone 13 Pro Max. Apple could have simply eased the authentication accuracy, but as Apple Pay works with various banks and credit cards, it is unlikely that Apple's financial partners would want to take that risk.
Face ID is a remarkable technology that identifies a person via the front-facing camera of an iPhone. The system is quite robust and can't be fooled with a photograph, since the TrueDepth camera that's required uses infrared light projection to identify the depth of facial features as well as the shade and color. This advanced technique even accounts for subtle changes such as growing a beard, wearing makeup, and wearing glasses.
Related: How To Add Multiple People To Face ID On iPhone
Despite the versatility of Face ID, being half-covered with a protective mask proved too challenging to allow recognition and authentication, but it looks like that will change in the future. A Tweet from Brandon Butch reveals a screenshot of a new option to use Face ID with a mask and a cute icon at the top makes it clear that this is for protective masks. Apple explains that it can recognize features around the eye area to authenticate and that a mask need not be worn when setting up Face ID in order to take advantage of this new capability. A second Tweet describes an option to add glasses while wearing a mask as well.
Well this is new
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