The iPhone 13 could fix one of the most annoying iPhone flaws since we started wearing masks. However, it may not be ready for release.

Apple's Face ID is arguably the best face unlocking technology available for cell phones, not only for unlocking phones but also for secure mobile payments. However, Face ID has not fared particularly well during the coronavirus outbreak.

Because Apple's facial recognition feature requires looking at your entire face, including areas that should be covered by a mask when out in public to slow the spread of COVID-19, the only way to use Apple Pay or unlock your iPhone is to enter a passcode. However, Apple may be working on a more permanent fix, claims a prominent leaker.

Jon Prosser writes that Apple is currently testing improved Face ID hardware to work with masks. Prosser's report, attributed to an unnamed source, claims that the hardware is being tested using a prototype case slid over the iPhone 12 to mimic the new Face ID sensor coming with the iPhone 13 this fall.

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

If this report is true, and Prosser has a mixed record regarding Apple's predictions, 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 undercover without the need for additional hardware or workarounds.

In the 18 months since the coronavirus pandemic introduced us to the world of face masks and social distancing, Apple has made several attempts to reduce the hassle of unlocking the iPhone while wearing a mask. These include displaying a passcode screen when Face ID detects a mask, and a feature in iOS 14.5 that allows users to unlock their iPhones when they are also wearing an Apple Watch.

Of course, not everyone has an Apple Watch (although Apple would be pleased if they did), and even then the iOS 14.5 update only works for unlocking, not for confirming Apple Pay payments. Apple needs a more permanent solution, and according to Prosser's report, that seems to be what they are testing now.

Prosser's report does not give any sort of timeframe for when an update to the Face ID feature will be launched. with the iPhone 13 scheduled to debut next month, it does not appear that Apple has much time left to perfect the rather complex feature .

Of course, the revamped Face ID does not necessarily have to debut at the same time as the iPhone 13. Assuming that the new iPhone already has the necessary sensors (and Prosser's report suggests that it will), turning on the feature may only require a future software update after the iPhone has already been sold.

Nevertheless, any report of an unannounced iPhone feature, whatever the source, should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. Until more details are revealed, the rumored Face ID improvements are more "wishful thinking" than "almost certainly a reality."

Still, Apple clearly has an incentive to make Face ID technology compatible with masks; the rise of the delta variant of COVID-19 suggests that masks will remain part of the disease-fighting arsenal for some time. And the smartphones we carry with us will need to recognize this new fact.