Roger Fingas
One of the most anticipated features of macOS Sierra may actually be one of the simplest: Auto Unlock, which stands to save some Mac and Apple Watch owners trouble if they regularly log in and out of their system.
The technology requires that a person be wearing an "authenticated" Apple Watch when they approach a powered-on Mac sitting at its login screen, according to Apple. The computer will then transition to the desktop within a few seconds, eliminating the need to type in a password.
Authentication means that the device is not only paired with an iPhone but has been approved via a PIN code or Touch ID fingerprint recognition. People must also be wearing their Watch, since the device's sensors will break authentication if they detect being removed from a wrist. The same scheme is what allows the Watch to use Apple Pay.
Apple hasn't specified what kind of wireless protocol Auto Unlock relies on, but it's presumably Bluetooth, since that has a short enough range to be precise, and Macs lack any built-in NFC support — at least so far.
People without a Watch should still be apple to rely on third-party apps like Knock, which requires only that you have an iPhone. Apple's system is simply more convenient as there is no middle step involved.
macOS Sierra will launch as a free update sometime this fall.
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46 Comments
Folks, how is this "Inside Sierra: How Apple Watch 'Auto Unlock' will let you jump straight into macOS"? The title implied a dive inside the technology that allows this functionality to work.... And yes, I guess you can say, mentioning Bluetooth could explain the title. But this really didn't cover anything that the key note hasn't already covered.
I hope that, by the time Sierra is released, this will be extended to the iPhone as well, rather than used as a ploy to sell the Apple Watch. It would be perfectly easy to do the same thing with an iPhone, which most Mac owners have (there are so many more iPhones out there than Macs that I'd assume the Mac/Android combination is somewhat rare (or owning a relatively expensive recent Mac but no smartphone at all)). Of course, you can still unlock your Mac the old way if you prefer Android or don't have a smartphone - but MANY more people could use auto-unlock if it worked with the iPhone.
no support for auto-unlock with an iPhone? weird
Are there any other security policies involved? Since the Watch can be authenticated with a PIN, that means it would become the weakest security link to get into a Mac. For most people it wouldn’t be of much concerned, but it todays world a PIN is not a good security policy
Looking forward to this feature. Yet another benefit of the tightly integrated Apple hardware / software / ecosystem.
But seriously, iPhone not performing Auto Unlock on your Mac is definitely a First World Problem.
Relax. You'll be fine.
I didn't see the title as implying a dive into the tech at all but into the actual action of unlocking a Mac. A lot of people didn't watch the Keynote and may not watch at all. This doesn't tell them much more than the Keynote would have, but if they didn't see it, it's more than nothing at all.
As mentioned, apps like Knock or MacID can be used with the iPhone. It just makes more sense to use the Watch, ploy or not.
Apple might bring it to the iPhone, but that doesn't make for as sexy a presentation as using the Watch. With as many detractors of the Watch as there are, bringing a little more functionality to it, as well as convenience AND security to the Mac, isn't a bad thing.