There’s a big update coming to iOS, and it’s expected to bring some welcome improvements.
The release is expected to come by the end of the month, and here’s what will be new in the iOS 14.5, according to MacWorld.
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1. You’ll be able to unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch. ⌚️
One frustrating part of using the face recognition is that when you’re masked in public, your phone doesn’t recognize you. With the new release, you’ll be able to automatically unlock your phone when you’re wearing an unlocked Apple Watch.
To do this, after you have the update, you’ll go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and enable the “Unlock with Apple Watch” toggle.
You’ll need to be wearing your watch, which will have to be unlocked.
When your phone sees you’re wearing a mask, you’ll feel a double vibration on the watch and your phone will say “Unlocking with Apple Watch.”
Are we all going to collectively let out a loud “FINALLY” sigh?
2. Transparency in app tracking
This one isn’t coming out immediately, but it will soon (think later this spring). It’s a good one, though!
Instead of simply allowing apps to track your activities, Apple will now require said apps to ask for your permission.
It all comes down to you OK’ing the apps to use your cookies. You can learn more about cookies, how they work and when to agree, by clicking or tapping here.
3. New emojis 😁👏
This is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s worth mentioning, because there will be more than 200 new emojis introduced in this update. Some of them are various combinations of skin tones and gender, and we will welcome them all!
Click or tap here to see some of the new emojis we can expect.
One other thing: That super handy emoji search bar on your iPhone? You’ll now see that on the iPad, too.
4. New Siri voices 🗣
Before you roll your eyes and move on, we love this update! In an effort to be more inclusive, Apple has added two new voices to choose from, making four total.
Instead of defaulting to the female voice, Apple will now prompt you to choose a voice during setup.
5. Music app updates
Downloading a song, or adding to playlists or your library will be easier.
There will also be a new feature called City Charts, which will allow you to hear popular music in more than 100 cities worldwide.
6. Syncing to gaming controllers
Your iPad and iPhone will now have the ability to sync with your Xbox Series X/S or PlayStation 5 game controllers.
7. Battery health recalibration for iPhone 11 models 🔋
For iPhone 11 users, you may have noticed a wrong estimate of your battery health that could lead to unexpected battery drain or reduced peak performance. The new update will send your phone through a recalibration that is expected to result in a more accurate reading of your battery life.
8. Siri emergency calls
You will now have the capability to request Siri call emergency services. After a three-second countdown, Siri will contact a local emergency service number on speakerphone.
9. Apple Fitness+ accessibility
Before now, Apple’s latest Fitness+ service has only been accessible on an iPhone, iPad or AppleTV, but with the latest update, users will be able to stream workouts from your iPhone or iPad to ANY AirPlay 2 supported device. For perspective, many TVs will now support Apple 2.
We’re pretty excited about some of these changes, but we’re curious: which update are you looking forward to most?