iOS 15.4 Will Let You Pay With Apple Pay Using Face ID While Wearing a Mask
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.
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.
Popular Stories
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Juli CloverApple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Juli CloverElevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag.
Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year.
Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro.
The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup.
The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie.
The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
