iOS Update Addresses iPhone Coronavirus Gripes -- Including Mask Issues
May 20 2020 - 2:27PM
Dow Jones News
By Joanna Stern
The iOS Coronavirus Update is available for your iPhone and is
ready to install.
That's what the iOS 13.5 notification should say when it pops up
on your iPhone in the next few days.
On Wednesday, Apple released an update to its iPhone and iPad
software that addresses some of the issues we've complained about
during our lockdown lives. For one, it's speeding up Face ID
unlocking for iPhone users wearing protective masks. It also made
an important tweak to group FaceTime calls.
It's not a huge update by any measure, but it is a useful one.
I've been testing a beta version on my iPhone 11 for the last
couple of weeks without any issue. (No battery life hit or
performance slowdowns to report.)
When you download it, here are the three big things you want to
know about.
Faster Mask Unlock
No, Apple's Face ID won't suddenly recognize you when you're
wearing a mask, an issue I wrote about a few weeks ago. But it does
make it easier to input your passcode. As you swipe up on the lock
screen, the instant the software detects that your face is blocked
by a mask, it pops up the passcode screen. The new algorithms are
designed to work with most masks that cover a nose and mouth.
Previously, Face ID tried multiple times to read your face, so you
had a lag before you could input your code.
It's helpful when using Apple Pay at stores. I'm still hoping to
get a mask made in the shape of my face so...I can creep everyone
out. And, yeah, so Face ID will still work.
Less Annoying FaceTime
Anyone else bothered by those constantly ballooning and resizing
FaceTime boxes during group video calls? We certainly were. You can
now go to Settings, then FaceTime and turn off the Speaking toggle
to stop the tile of the person talking from getting bigger. You'll
now get a simple grid with static frames of everyone you're
chatting with. You can still manually enlarge people's faces by
tapping twice on their tiles.
Support for Exposure Notification
This update also brings the back-end technology for Covid-19
exposure-notification apps (which are often also known as
contact-tracing apps). If you have no idea what that means, that is
OK. Check out my column and video here -- they explain how public
health authorities and app developers are looking to build
smartphone software that uses Bluetooth to track who we come into
contact with. This won't matter for you until your state or region
offers a supported app that uses this technology. North Dakota,
Alabama and South Carolina are planning to offer apps based on the
tech soon. If you're curious, you can see some controls for the
tools hidden in settings. Go to Privacy > Health > Covid-19
Exposure Logging.
Write to Joanna Stern at joanna.stern@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 20, 2020 14:12 ET (18:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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