All of the changes in iOS 15.2
Here are the complete release notes for iOS 15.2, which arrived in December:
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
Which iPhone models work with iOS 15.5?
If you’re wondering whether or not your device is compatible with iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, here’s a full list below with every compatible device. If your device is there, you’re good to go:
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE (1st generation)
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
- iPod touch (7th generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation)
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch
- iPad (7th generation)
- iPad (6th generation)
- iPad (5th generation)
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- iPad mini 4
- iPad Air (3rd generation)
- iPad Air 2
One of the benefits of iOS 15 being a relatively incremental upgrade is the fact that every iPhone that was compatible with iOS 14 is also compatible with the new update. The same is true of iPadOS 14 and iPadOS 15. You can now squeeze at least one more year out of your device.
New features
Face ID improvements
Face ID, Apple’s biometric security measure enabled by the TrueDepth camera in devices like the iPad Pro and iPhone 11 series, is a fast and easy way to unlock a compatible handset. However, the safety measures baked into the feature can mean wearing something like a mask makes it a bit more difficult to access your handset. Before the release of iOS 13.5, if the iPhone or iPad Pro owner was wearing a mask and tried to utilize Face ID the feature would fail and, after a brief pause, eventually bring up the passcode entry option.
Tip: Avoid Face ID mask issues by jumping to the passcode entry screen immediately
However, with this update Apple made a tweak to the Face ID feature that now makes things a bit faster, and, therefore, a bit more streamlined. Now when you are wearing a mask and try to use Face ID the system will still try to recognize your face, but, if it determines you’re wearing a mask it will more quickly bring up the passcode entry option. It makes the process a bit more streamlined when compared to the previous method, even if everything is still happening the same — albeit faster.
It’s a handy feature, especially with mask wearing being so important during the global health crisis.
Share Medical ID info during emergency calls
The built-in Medical ID within iOS is a handy element, one that you hope you’ll never need. With iOS 13.5 Apple is making it easier to share that information when it’s most important: during an emergency call. The new software makes it possible to opt-in to automatically sharing your Medical ID information when making an emergency call.
The information will be shared with the dispatcher who takes the call:
The new feature can be activated after you open the Health app after downloading and installing iOS 13.5. The app will have you check over your pertinent information, confirm it is accurate, and then choose to turn on the ability to automatically send your Medical ID info when making an emergency call.
Share Apple Music songs to Instagram Stories
This has been possible through third-party apps and services, but now Apple is baking the ability to share songs from the streaming service to Instagram Stories directly through the app.
Tutorial: How to share Apple Music songs on Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories
To make it work, simply load up a song you want to share in Apple Music and then tap on the “Share” option. Selecting Instagram will populate a preview of what’s going to be shared, including a portrait of the album cover. The blurred background is animated and you’ll see the name of the song as well.
Disable Automatic Prominence in group FaceTime
The other big new addition is the ability to stop Group FaceTime from automatically making an active speaker float to the top of the group video call in a larger box than the other attendees. To turn it off, it’s a pretty simple process:
- Open the Settings app
- Navigate to and select FaceTime
- Scroll down until you find “Automatic Prominence”
- Tap the toggle to turn on or off the feature for whoever is speaking
You can also check out our handy tutorial as well.
HomePod update
Apple typically releases updates for its smart speaker, the HomePod, when it releases new updates for iOS. That. the case with this update as well, even if the version numbers don’t match. The HomePod has been updated to version 13.4.5, which includes general improvements for quality and stability. No major features were added with this new software update.
The HomePod will automatically update its software after you’ve updated your iPhone to iOS 13.5.
Best new features in iOS 15
FaceTime might actually be the biggest winner in iOS 15. SharePlay debuts in iOS 15, bringing movies and shows to FaceTime calls. You can also share music, web pages, apps, and more with SharePlay on FaceTime. Apple has also brought Portrait mode to FaceTime, which blurs the background during the call and puts you in focus. Plus, at long last, grid view comes to FaceTime.
The main addition in Messages is “Shared with You” — a new section in apps such as Photos, Safari, Apple Music, and more that shows you which content others have shared with you. You can also send photo collections in Messages and more easily save photos from within a conversation.
Apple’s best iPhone additions in iOS 15.1
The biggest update in iOS 15.1 is one that impacts many different devices. It’s Apple’s new SharePlay feature, which is a new feature that was supposed to roll out in iOS 15. It lets people watch movies or TV together remotely, or listen to music together. Think of it as Watch Party, but baked right into your iPhone.
There are also plenty of bug fixes and refinements in iOS 15.1.
For people with the iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 15 is a much more substantial update. It adds several significant new camera features including ProRes video capture support and a new Auto Macro toggle. This way you can stop your iPhone from automatically entering macro mode when shooting close-up photos.
