Apple has reportedly fixed the issue that broke the “unlock with Apple Watch” feature on iPhone 13 models. The feature, which lets Apple Watch users unlock their iPhones without a password when wearing a mask, now works again as of the second iOS 15.1 beta, as reported by 9to5Mac.
Apple noted on its support page a few days ago that it was working on this problem. I’ve run into the issue myself on my personal iPhone 13 Pro and can confirm that it’s been pretty annoying after having gotten used to the feature since it was introduced earlier this year. Newer iPhones don’t have fingerprint readers, so the only way to unlock them when your mask interferes with Face ID is by using a password.
There’s no word on when iOS 15.1 will be released to the public, but it’ll likely contain more than just this fix. SharePlay, one of the most vaunted new additions to the OS back when it was announced at WWDC in June, missed the original iOS 15 release but appeared in the first 15.1 beta. The feature lets you share music and video content over a FaceTime call. iOS 15.1 also looks set to allow you to add proof of vaccination status to the Wallet app.
