The recently announced iOS 14.5 has made a lot of headlines due to different promises it’s meant to deliver and among them is the new unlocking feature which allows you to simply bypass taking off our face mask all the time just to unlock your device.

The new feature on the software update incorporates with the Apple Watch to make this a possibility.

So if you’ve ever wondered how to unlock your iPhone running the latest iOS 14.5 without the need to pull off your face mask, then you can easily learn how to below.

However, there was an ancient guide I put up back in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic narrating how to bypass this without removing your face mask and one of such was the addition of the Pin code which Apple included as an unlocking option in the previous iOS update.

While that feature might be handy in the sense that you can simply click on unlocking your iPhone without necessarily having to intentionally fail at the FaceID attempt three times before being presented to enter your Pin code.

Unlock Your iPhone without removing your face mask

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is obligated to wear face mask and that is why you might be needing this feature. Who wants to be pulling their face mask every time they want to check something on their smartphone.

With the big iOS 14.5 and WatchOS 7.4 update and later, you can easily bypass this hurdle of FaceID and not have to rip off your face mask in public anymore.

But not so fast. There are some important things you should also note aside the new software updates for both your iPhone and Apple Watch.

One of the most important thing is that your smartwatch should also be on your wrist and unlocked which is the same requirements to using the Apple Watch as the key to unlocking your Mac computer.

Setting Up to Unlock iPhone

To enable the feature:

1. Tap the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Choose Face ID & Passcode.

Next:

1. Enter your iPhone passcode.
2. Toggle on the setting below Unlock with Apple Watch.

And there you have it. With that done, the next time you have the compulsive urge to check your Instagram feed in the middle of the city with your face mask on, the device gets automatically unlocked as your Apple Watch gets the background unlock process done.

One obvious thing about Apple devices is the speed and that is also the case in this scenario as well.

If you attempt to use Face ID without a mask, it will unlock as normal. When the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera does recognize that you’re wearing a mask, it will alert your Apple Watch to unlock the iPhone. When this occurs, you’ll feel a quick double-tap on your wrist from the Apple Watch.

Other cool iOS 14.5 features

Apple as usual has built up a number of interesting features within the iOS 14.5 once again and the unlocking with Apple Watch via WatchOS 7.4 isn’t the only feature that came with the release.

If you’ve been in the news lately, you might have red about the situation with Facebook over privacy issues and that is true because Apple has now added an App Tracking Transparency feature to the new update which makes it easy for you to know what info is being collected from you by app developers.

This new obligation is mandatory for app developers who are required to first ask for permission before tracking users for targeted ads.

Then there is the Find My app Items tab which works in collaboration with the new AirTag tracking device that was recently announced.

It’s from here you can begin tracking non-Apple products that support the company’s new Find My API, including Beats headphones and Belkin wireless earbuds.

Other cool features includes the ability to switch up Siri’s voice as well as setup new skin tone options for some emojis.

Basically, Apple is making the iOS more customizable and personalized than ever which is a big deal considering the fact that this has been one of Android’s biggest hit since it debuted many years ago.

watchOS 7.4

I mentioned earlier that you can easily unlock your iPhone running the latest iOS 14.5 via your Apple Watch well its all thanks to the current WatchOS 7.4 which also bring a number of cool features to the table such as the Apple Fitness+ which can be cast to bigger screens like TV.

Apple also released a new version of tvOS for the Apple TV. The tvOS 14.5 update, however, was short of significant changes. It adds support for the latest PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers and includes a new Adjust Color Balance feature. The latter uses your iPhone’s light sensor to determine the best settings for your Apple TV.