Apple makes it easier to skip Face ID while wearing face masks in OS update

Apple is doing its part to slow the spread of the coronavirus by releasing a software update that makes it easier for smartphone users to log in without taking off face masks.

As governments across the globe are mandating that people don protective gear in public, a new operating system will improve the experience of unlocking an iPhone through Face ID while wearing a face mask, as seen in a Twitter video.

The clips, posted yesterday by Apple software developers, show that iPhones with iOS 13.5 Beta will automatically be prompted to use the manual passcode entry if using Face ID while wearing a face covering.

This way, users don’t have to potentially expose themselves to disease by taking off their face mask to log in. It also eliminates the hassle of having to physically locate the passcode entry option.

Apple hopes that the improvement will reduce the spread of COVID-19 among those who log in to their phones multiple times per day.

Apple’s iOS 13.5 software is projected to be available in the coming weeks, although it’s unclear if the face mask-detecting function will be in the update’s final version, reports TechCrunch.

A recent Australian study found that the average smartphone is riddled with hundreds of strains with bacteria.

“People have to understand that mobile phones are Trojan horses for microbial presence,” said Dr. Lotti Tajouri of Brisbane’s Bond University. The molecular expert added that even if you wash your hands hundreds of times, “if you then touch a contaminated phone, you are contaminating yourself all over again.”