Apple is giving iPhone users a ton of new features to look forward to, thanks to the release of iOS 14.5. This is the latest version of iOS to hit the scene, and while it may not be the largest update Apple has ever released, it still has plenty to offer.
While updates like iOS 14 and iOS 13 often garner the most fanfare, these smaller point updates in between are just as important in daily use. They fix pesky bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, and add a few new features here and there to keep the iOS experience feeling as fresh as possible. That's exactly what Apple has done yet again with iOS 14.5, and looking at the full changelog, it's one of the biggest iterative updates Apple has released in some time.
Apple has confirmed that iOS 14.5 is rolling out to iPhone users as of April 26, and right off the bat, one of the biggest new features is App Tracking Transparency. Rather than apps always being able to track user activity outside of the application, this kind of tracking needs to be approved by the user. People can allow this tracking to resume like normal when asked, or indicate that they'd like the app not to do this. Furthermore, users can open the Settings app to view (and change) the choices they've made for these tracking requests.
iOS 14.5 Adds New Siri Voices, Face ID Improvements, & More
Another big update is the ability to unlock an iPhone with a connected Apple Watch. Face ID and face masks don't exactly go hand-in-hand, but now when Face ID sees that the iPhone user is wearing a face mask while trying to unlock their phone, it'll use their Apple Watch to confirm that it's OK for the iPhone to be unlocked. This only happens when the Apple Watch is being worn, when it's close to the iPhone, and when it's secured with a passcode — ensuring it remains just as safe as it is convenient. iOS 14.5 also improves the Siri experience, adding two new voice options for a total of four to choose from. All voices use Apple's Neural Text to Speech tech, ensuring they sound as natural and lifelike as possible. Furthermore, Siri can now start group FaceTime calls, call emergency contacts, and announce incoming calls through AirPods and select Beats headphones.
Looking at Apple's first-party apps, iOS 14.5 now lets users report incidents in Apple Maps for others to see — such as car accidents, road hazards, and speed checks. Incidents can be reported hands-free using Siri, and if a user sees an incident that's no longer present, they can indicate that it's been cleared. The Apple Podcasts app features redesigned show pages, new collections on the Search page for more easily finding new content, and the ability to save/download episodes to have them automatically added to the Library. Apple News also gets an upgraded Search page, in addition to a redesign for the News+ section. Lastly, Apple Reminders gains new sorting options while Apple Fitness+ adds AirPlay 2 streaming support.
Rounding out iOS 14.5, there are a few miscellaneous changes, too. iPhone users get all-new emoji and new skin color options for existing ones, the iPhone 12 lineup gains dual SIM 5G support, the Voice Control accessibility feature expands to additional countries, and AirTag support is added to the Find My app. iOS 14.5 is rolling out now as a 1.26GB update, so be sure to keep an eye out for the new software.
Source: Apple