iPhone 13 could have the one big upgrade we've been waiting for

iPhone 12 Pro Max review cameras
(Image credit: Future)

The iPhone 13 could fix one of the most annoying iPhone flaws since we've all started wearing masks. But it might not be ready for launch.

Apple's Face ID is arguably the best face-unlocking technology available on phones, as it can handle secure mobile payments as well as unlock your handset. But Face ID hasn't fared particularly well during the coronavirus pandemic.

Because Apple's face recognition feature needs to see your whole face — including the parts you should be covering with a mask when you're out in public to slow the spread of COVID-19 — you're reduced to entering in your passcode if you want to use Apple Pay or unlock your iPhone. But Apple could be working on a more permanent fix, a prominent leaker claims.

Jon Prosser writes that Apple is currently testing out revamped Face ID hardware that would be able to work with masks. Prosser's report, which is attributed to unnamed sources, claims that the hardware is being tested out using a prototype case that slips over the iPhone 12 to mimic the new Face ID sensors coming with this fall's iPhone 13.

"By our measurements, the prototype array matches the same layout that we saw in the iPhone 13 CAD files that we made public back in June," Prosser writes at Front Page Tech, which also includes a CAD rendering of the prototype array reportedly being used to test out the new version of Face ID.

iPhone 12 FaceID prototype

A CAD rendering of what Apple's Face ID prototype allegedly looks like (Image credit: Front Page Tech)

If the report is true — and Prosser has a mixed record when it comes to his Apple forecasts — it would be a very big deal for Apple and its future iPhones. Such a feature would allow iPhone users to unlock their phones while staying masked up, with no additional hardware or work-arounds required.

In the 18 months since the coronavirus pandemic introduced us to a world of face masks and social distancing, Apple has made a few attempts to make unlocking your iPhone less of a hassle when you're wearing a mask. That includes bringing up the passcode screen when Face ID detects a mask as well as an iOS 14.5 feature that lets you unlock your phone if you're also wearing an Apple Watch.

Of course, not everyone ones an Apple Watch (though Apple would love it if they did), and even then, the iOS 14.5 update only works with unlocking, not with verifying Apple Pay payments. Apple's going to need a more permanent solution, and that appears to be what the company is testing right now, based on Prosser's report.

What we don't get in the Prosser report is any sort of time frame as to when an updated Face ID feature could launch. With the iPhone 13 set to debut next month, that doesn't leave a lot of time for Apple to perfect what would seemingly be a pretty complicated feature.

Of course, the revamped Face ID doesn't necessarily have to debut at the same time as the iPhone 13. Assuming the new iPhones have the necessary sensors already in place — and the Prosser report suggests that they will — turning the feature on could be a matter of a future software update after the phones are already on sale.

That said, we'd take any report of an unannounced iPhone feature with a healthy amount of skepticism, no matter what the source. Until more details emerge, rumored Face ID improvements are closer to the "wishful thinking" end of the spectrum than they are to "almost certainly a reality."

Still, Apple clearly has an incentive to make its Face ID technology capable of working with masks. The rise of COVID-19's Delta variant suggests that masks are going to remain a part of the disease-fighting arsenal for some time. And it's going to be necessary for the smartphones we tote around to recognize that new fact of life.

Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Read more
iPhone 16 Pro shown held in hand
iPhone 18 could get the design upgrade we've been waiting years for
iPhone 16 Pro Max shown in hand
Forget iPhone 17 — the iPhone 18 could be the first phone with under-display Face ID
iPhone SE 2022 home screen front
iPhone SE 4 — Apple is about to kill these iconic iPhone features forever
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
iOS 19 — all the biggest rumors so far
iPhone 17 Air render
iPhone 17 Air — 5 biggest revelations from new in-depth report
Apple Intelligence logo on iPhone
Apple says the iPhone 16 is selling well and Apple Intelligence is a big reason why
Latest in iPhones
WWDC logo on yellow background
Apple WWDC 2025 date set for June 9 — iOS 19, Apple Intelligence and more expected
iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence logo for iOS 18.1
iOS 18.4: All the newest Apple Intelligence features coming to your iPhone
Apple maps logo on iPhone screen
I avoided Apple Maps for trip planning — but these iOS 18 features are changing my mind
New emojis with iOS 18.4 beta release.
iOS 18.4 beta brings 8 new emoji to your iPhone — here's all the new options
An image of an iPhone screen showing the Safari app icon in the center
I got tired of Safari revealing my web searches in iOS 18.4 — this setting fixes that
iPhone Flip Concept
Foldable iPhone delays — there’s a bigger problem going on at Apple
Latest in News
CAD renders of the Google Pixel 10
Pixel 10 could include a repurposed ‘Pixie’ assistant — but what actually happened?
Galaxy S25 Edge dummy unit from side angle
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge design just shown off on video from every angle with seemingly accurate dummies
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
iOS 19 redesign mockups emerge — but not everyone is convinced
Sony WF-C710N
Sony's latest budget ANC buds have arrived with a fancy new color
Bill Gates in 2019
Bill Gates just predicted the death of every job thanks to AI — except for these three
ChatGPT advanced Voice Mode
ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode just got a free upgrade — here's what's new
  • watzupken
    There is a simple solution to this problem. Just add a finger print reader on the phone Apple. If Apple is so incapable of getting an under screen fingerprint reader to work, at least have the decency of adding a physical fingerprint reader. They claim how safe their phone is, until you need to keep pressing the code to unlock the phone each time in order to use it. So much for safe and private.
    Reply