It was just a year ago when iOS 13.5 introduced a small Face ID UI tweak that bypassed Face ID and went straight to the passcode entry screen but over time I did not find it very useful. Face ID took longer and longer to bring up the passcode entry screen, as if it was trying to look past the mask. While it was good that Apple finally acknowledged Face ID shortcomings with face masks after ignoring complaints from Asian users, it took a health crises to force Apple to do something about it. In the end it didn’t change anything.
And now we have iOS 14.5 with Face ID ‘Unlock with Apple Watch’, another stop-gap until Apple delivers a real solution. It will never work with Apple Pay, which it should not though many will wish for it fumbling with iPhone Face ID authorization in the checkout line. It’s probably most helpful when digging for point reward QR Code apps that don’t use Face ID for sign in. Will it help sell Apple Watches? Perhaps, but it also might dampen future iPhone upgrades with improved Face ID.
Some first impressions…it feels like what it is: a clever hack but a hack nevertheless, to do something Face ID wasn’t designed to do that re-routes the ‘chain of trust’ from one way to two way. This makes things much more complicated. Already there are complaints of Face ID unlock with Apple Watch not working when Apple Pay Octopus users are in transit. I also find it unreliable especially during Suica transit. Overall 1 out of 3 times it strikes out. I know the feature is beta 1, but I already get that iPhone X NFC problem vibe: deep down this feature isn’t going to work reliably…ever.
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