The new iPhone 13 garnered positive reviews for battery life, for the new screen, for the cameras. But they have arrived even the first problems. It unlock with Apple Watch doesn’t always work on iPhone 13, making life harder for whom cannot unlock the smartphone with the faceplate on.
Unlocking with Apple Watch does not work on iPhone 13
You don’t need a good memory to remember the times when smartphones did they only unlocked with the screen code, to be entered every time the screen is turned on again. But then came the fingerprint reader: if before the automatic gesture was to type a code, now it was enough to position the thumb correctly. Apple then decided to leave more screen space and use the Face ID, more accurate and faster in each new iPhone version. Unfortunately, however, the lockdowns and the need to protect yourself with a mask have made the work of Apple’s artificial intelligence more complex. Difficult to recognize a face that is half covered: if we fail to greet acquaintances on the street, it is even more difficult for an iPhone to adapt.
For this reason starting from iOS 14.5 Apple has added an extra security option: unlocking with Apple Watch. The security of the smart watch is already high in itself: once you unlock it with your smartphone, check that it stays on your wrist. This way you can pay with Apple Pay insecurity. And in the last year, you have also been able to unlock your smartphone, simply by being close to it with an Apple Watch on your wrist.
The feature is available for iPhone X and later, as well as needing to have Bluetooth and WiFi turned on for both devices. In addition, the pulse detection on the Watch and that it is protected by a code. Once set up, it becomes super easy. Except for the most recent iPhone 13, apparently.
A fix coming, even if we don’t know the causes
Since Friday, the Apple Watch subsection of Reddit has started reporting issues with the feature. On iPhones 13, released only on September 24th, unlocking does not take place. Some users found the writing “Unable to communicate with Apple Watch“. So, those who used their smartphone wearing the mask over the weekend (perhaps while on public transport or inside a club) had to resort to the old security code system. Nothing insurmountable. But a an unwelcome step back in time to those who have just bought a top-of-the-range smartphone in 2021.
Apple has already acknowledged the problem by updating its support page. He did not want to explain what the reason behind this problem is. La Mela assures that the bug “it will be fixed in a future software update“. In the meantime, he recommends disabling the feature and using the code while wearing a mask.
This is not Apple’s only “flaw” in the recent launch of the new iOS 15 operating system and new iPhones. There SharePlay feature on FaceTime, to watch a TV series or a film with friends even from a distance, it would have to arrive and instead delay. A new bug block access to Apple Music and it is not the only one present in the new operating system.
Add to these problems the fact that many have complained about little news on the new iPhone 13, which improve everything a little but really only change the screen at 120Hz. And only in the Pro and Pro Max versions. The new smartphone from Apple will undoubtedly be a success as Cupertino has shown us year after year. But perhaps this launch had more problems than usual.
The bugfix should arrive shortly. In the meantime, use a code. But not “0000”, “1234” or your date of birth, please.