Tag: iOS 15

  • Apple releases iOS 15.2 update with major new features

    Apple releases iOS 15.2 update with major new features

    The news: Apple just dropped the second major update to iOS 15 with a handful of new features and bug fixes.

    The highlights

    • Apple Music Voice Plan: a $4.99/month subscription that allows you to play songs from Apple Music exclusively through Siri
    • App Privacy Report: see more details than ever before about how apps are tracking you
    • Digital Legacy: set contacts that can access your personal data when you pass away
    • Manual macro camera toggle for iPhone 13 Pro users (thank you!)

    Full changelog

    Apple Music Voice Plan

    • Apple Music Voice Plan is a new subscription tier that gives you access to all songs, playlists, and stations in Apple Music using Siri
    • Just Ask Siri suggests music based on your listening history and likes or dislikes
    • Play it Again lets you access a list of your recently played music

    Privacy

    • App Privacy Report in Settings lets you see how often apps have accessed your location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more during the last seven days, as well as their network activity
      Messages
    • Communication safety setting gives parents the ability to enable warnings for children when they receive or send photos that contain nudity
    • Safety warnings contain helpful resources for children when they receive photos that contain nudity

    Siri and Search

    • Expanded guidance in Siri, Spotlight and Safari Search to help children and parents stay safe online and get help with unsafe situations

    Apple ID

    • Digital Legacy allows you to designate people as Legacy Contacts so they can access your iCloud account and personal information in the event of your death

    Camera

    • Macro photo control for switching to the Ultra Wide lens to capture macro photos and videos can be enabled in Settings on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max

    TV app

    • Store tab lets you browse, buy, and rent movies and TV Shows all in one place

    CarPlay

    • Enhanced city map in Apple Maps with road details like turn lanes, medians, bike lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks for supported cities

    This release also includes the following enhancements for your iPhone:

    • Hide My Email is available in the Mail app for iCloud+ subscribers to create unique, random email addresses
    • Find My can locate iPhone for up to five hours when in Power Reserve
    • Stocks allows you to view the currency for a ticker and see year-to-date performance when viewing charts
    • Reminders and Notes now allow you to delete or rename tags

    This release also includes bug fixes for your iPhone:

    • Siri may not respond while VoiceOver is running and iPhone is locked
    • ProRAW photos may appear overexposed when viewing in third-party photo editing apps
    • HomeKit scenes that include a garage door may not run from CarPlay when your iPhone is locked
    • CarPlay may not update Now Playing information for certain apps
    • Video streaming apps may not load content on iPhone 13 models
    • Calendar events may appear on the wrong day for Microsoft Exchange users
  • Apple releases iOS 15.1.1 update for iPhone 12 & iPhone 13 only

    Apple releases iOS 15.1.1 update for iPhone 12 & iPhone 13 only

    The news: Apple just dropped a fresh version of iOS 15…but only for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 devices.

    • “iOS 15.1.1 improves call drop performance on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models” the release notes say
    • Apple has not apparently made any additional changes or fixed other bugs in this latest update

    Our take: Hoping to see some additional bugs in iOS 15 addressed in the near future (ex. general stability and less app crashes), as this is an issue I wasn’t even familiar with until now.

  • What’s new in iOS 15.2 beta 2? Legacy contacts, updated TV app & more

    What’s new in iOS 15.2 beta 2? Legacy contacts, updated TV app & more

    The news: Apple released the second beta of iOS 15.2 to developers on Tuesday morning. Included in this update are a slew of changes…including some features that Apple had announced historically but not yet implemented. Here’s the latest.

    What’s new?

    • New Macro icon in Camera when macro mode is activated (via Zollotech)
    • Communication Safety will automatically blur nudity received or sent in the Messages app if you are a child for accounts set up as families in iCloud
    • iCloud+ subscribers can now use the Hide My Email feature directly in the Mail app
    • Code found in iOS 15.2 beta 2 suggests that a fix for Face ID breaking after swapping displays (even genuine ones) on iPhone 13 models will be included in the update (via MacRumors)
    • The TV app gets new sidebar on iPadOS 15.2 and there’s a new Store tab, too
    • New “Help Return Lost Items” and “Items That Can Track Me” buttons in Find My to scan lost items near you or locate AirTags that could be following you around respectively
    • Legacy Contacts feature announced at WWDC 2021 is here and allows you to add a trusted person that can access your data when you pass away

  • Apple releases iOS 15.0.2 update fixing most prominent bugs

    Apple releases iOS 15.0.2 update fixing most prominent bugs

    The news: Apple just dropped a fresh version of iOS 15 with some additional bug fixes and improvements.

    Changelog

    • Photos saved to your library from Messages could be deleted after removing the associated thread or message
    • iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe may not connect to Find My
    • AirTag might not appear in the Find My Items tab
    • CarPlay may fail to open audio apps or disconnect during playback
    • Device restore or update may fail when using Finder or iTunes for iPhone 13 models

    Our take: The bug fix update many have been waiting for. Corrects most of the launch issues that folks have been reporting over the past two weeks.

  • What’s new in iOS 15 beta 6? Old Safari design returns & SharePlay delayed

    What’s new in iOS 15 beta 6? Old Safari design returns & SharePlay delayed

    The news: Apple released iOS 15 beta 6 at 10am PST on Tuesday morning as an official launch nears…this time, including some substantial changes in Safari and elsewhere.

    • TL;DR: Safari brings back the old design (as an option) and SharePlay in FaceTime has been delayed

    What’s new?

    • Safari now gives you the traditional top bar option in addition to a revamped bottom bar variation; there are also various UI tweaks including a relocated download indicator and more
    • FaceTime’s SharePlay feature for sharing content over calls has been delayed until a future update to iOS 15 coming this Fall
  • What’s new in iOS 15 beta 5?

    What’s new in iOS 15 beta 5?

    The news: Apple just released the fifth beta of iOS 15 to developers at 10am PST on Tuesday morning.

    • TL;DR: new Weather icon, fresh splash screens & option for bigger icons on iPad
    • The official launch of iOS 15 is nearing as September approaches, even though iOS 14.8 is currently in testing

    What’s new?

    • App Store now shows if you have a TestFlight version of an app installed
    • When powering off your device, there’s a new option to enable or disable finding even when iPhone is off
    • New icon for Weather app
    • Redesigned Announce Notifications icon in Control Center
    • New splash screens when launching Home, Maps, Photos, Podcasts, Translate and TV for the first time
    [Feature – iPadOS 15 beta 5] New Large Icon Option on Home Screen
    byu/elmium iniOSBeta
    • iPadOS only: New option for large icons on the Home Screen
  • What’s new in iOS 15 beta 4? More Safari tweaks, MagSafe Battery Pack support & more

    What’s new in iOS 15 beta 4? More Safari tweaks, MagSafe Battery Pack support & more

    The news: Following the private and public beta release of iOS 15 beta 4, these are the changes you should know about.

    • TL;DR: Safari continues to get better, the new MagSafe battery is now properly supported, and there’s more granular options you can configure across the OS

    What’s new?

    • Continued tweaks to Safari on iOS including a reload and share button in the search bar, and tapping the display will minimize or expand the bar
    • iPadOS’ Safari now looks very close to macOS Monterey and gives you the ability to select your tab bar style
    • Ability to share/not share Focus Status on a contact-by-contact basis
    • New Notifications icon in Settings and ability to show or hide notifications while screen sharing
    • Shortcuts gains “Return to Home Screen” action
    MacRumors
    • New camera icon on the Lock Screen removes the shutter switch
  • What’s new in iOS 15 beta 3? Major Safari UI improvements, updated Music widget & more

    What’s new in iOS 15 beta 3? Major Safari UI improvements, updated Music widget & more

    The news: Apple released the third developer beta of iOS 15 on Wednesday morning following a medium-sized beta 2 about 3 weeks ago.

    What’s new?

    • Safari UI improvements include a new reload button and the search bar now remains consistent on the bottom of your display
    • New icons in Focus settings and a new Focus Status explainer
    • New ‘Prepare for New iPhone’ section and what you see when tapped
    • Updated Music widget shows now playing colors instead of just the Music app icon colors
    • When swiping on notifications, the two options are now individual buttons
    • New ‘+’ button on the top of Find My tabs
    • New App Store splash screen
  • Apple releases public betas for iOS/iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15

    Apple releases public betas for iOS/iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15

    The news: Apple has just released public beta versions of all the software they announced at WWDC 2021.

    • Alongside an updated build of iOS 15 beta 2 for developers, Apple has released public beta version of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15
    • You can sign up for any of the public betas at beta.apple.com

    Our take: If you’ve been wanting to try out some new features early, this is the best way to hop on and provide feedback before everything is solidified this Fall. From my experience, iOS 15 is absolutely stable enough to be on your daily driver, but proceed with caution as bugs will be there, some of your favorite apps may be glitchy or not work, and battery life won’t be as good as what you see now on iOS 14.

  • Apple releases new build of iOS 15 beta 2

    Apple releases new build of iOS 15 beta 2

    The news: Following last week’s iOS 15 beta 2 release, Apple has issued a new version of the same beta to developers.

    • The new version has the build number 19A5281j
    • iOS 15 beta 2 included a new Maps icon, Memoji outfits, and new splash screens
  • iPadOS 15 beta 2 allows apps to use more than 5GB RAM

    iPadOS 15 beta 2 allows apps to use more than 5GB RAM

    The news: Apple is planning to allow apps to take better advantage of higher RAM capacities on iPadOS, as first spotted by MacRumors.

    • Developers can request a new entitlement from Apple to allow their apps to use larger portions of RAM on iOS and iPadOS 15 beta 2, which will be especially useful on the M1 iPad Pro models
    • Prior to yesterday’s beta release, apps were limited to 5GB RAM, even on iPads with 8-16GB RAM

    Our take: This is…a step in the right direction? The fact that developers have to request access to more RAM is pretty wild, and I’m not sure why Apple needs to control this on iPadOS when RAM permissions have never been an issue on Mac. Still, this is an improvement over what we had before.