iOS update will make it easier to unlock Apple iPhone while wearing a mask

Users have found themselves frustrated with Face ID feature as coronavirus pandemic has taken hold

(ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

A new update to Apple's iPhone will make it easier to unlock while wearing a mask.

Early versions of the software – which have been released to testers as part of the iOS 13.5 beta – include new changes that make it easier to get around Apple's Face ID facial recognition technology.

Many users have found themselves frustrated in recent weeks as they have followed some countries' guidance to wear masks when outside, but found that doing so gets in the way so that the phone cannot recognise its owner and will not unlock.

With the new software, the phones are still unlikely to recognise their users. The phones gather a 3D scan of their owners' face and check by looking at the placement of key features such as the nose and mouth, meaning that any mask is likely to get in the way of the technology.

Instead, the phone will bring up the passcode screen more quickly if it detects the person using it is also wearing a mask. That in practise means that Face ID will realise that it is likely to fail, and users can try the alternative route straight away rather than trying repeatedly to unlock with their face.

Under the old system, users could be left staring at their phone for a moment while the phone decided that the Face ID check was likely to fail and the the passcode entry screen should be opened instead.

The full version of iOS 13.5 is likely to be released to users in the coming weeks, and will be available to download like any other iOS update.