Skip the Touch ID Scan: Unlock iPhone Duo With Apple Watch

iPhone Duo uses a Touch ID sensor built into the side button for authentication. Some may feel this is a step backwards after almost a decade of Face ID on iPhones, but if you wear an Apple Watch, you can use it to unlock your iPhone Duo instead. This way, you don't need to touch the side button at all. It's the closest thing we have to a seamless Face ID experience on iPhone Duo (at least for now). The feature is called Unlock with Apple Watch. It's not new to iPhone, but it works reliably. Note that your Apple Watch needs to be a Series 9 or later, an Ultra 2 or later, or an SE 3. Here's how to turn on the feature and start using it. Turn On Unlock With Apple Watch Open the Settings app on your iPhone Duo. Tap Touch ID & Passcode, then enter your passcode. Scroll down to "Unlock with Nearby Devices." Toggle on the switch next to your Apple Watch. If you have more than one watch paired with your iPhone Duo, toggle it on for each one. Unlock iPhone Duo With Your Watch Make sure your Apple Watch is on your wrist and unlocked, and close to your iPhone Duo. Wake iPhone Duo by raising it or tapping the screen. (If it's closed, opening it also wakes it.) Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to dismiss the Lock Screen. From here on, your Apple Watch will handle the authentication – no fingerprint shenanigans required. The swipe up is still needed to get past the Lock Screen, but you can turn off this additional step in Settings. Popular StoriesApple Retail Staff Told to Warn Against iPhone Duo Walk-In PurchasesSome Apple retail employees have been told to warn customers against visiting to purchase an iPhone Duo without a pre-order on Friday, October 23. Apple Store employees told MacRumors that they have been advised that there will likely be no iPhone Duo stock available for walk-in purchases on launch day. Staff have been instructed to discourage customers without pre-orders from coming in...Here's What Apple's Apps Look Like on the iPhone DuoTuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Juli CloverWith just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day. Many apps are shown in landscape...Mark Gurman: Apple Made 'Major Mistake' With iPhone Duo Pre-OrdersDespite knowing that the iPhone Duo would face "severe supply constraints" due to manufacturing challenges, Apple chose to begin iPhone Duo pre-orders on Friday instead of waiting until it had more inventory ready, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, he called this decision a "major mistake." "Let me cut to the chase: Apple made a major mistake here," he...