ios 15.5 safari version

• Services & Software

Apple iOS 15.5 Update: Here's What's in Apple's Latest iPhone OS

iOS 15.5 is a lot smaller than its predecessor, but it still brings some new features to your iPhone. Here's what you need to know.

• Adam has been covering streaming services since 2013 and wants to help people navigate the subscription creep in their lives.

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Apple's iOS 15.5 release adds new features to Apple Cash and Podcasts.

Apple's latest iPhone software update, iOS 15.5, brings a small handful of new features and updates to your iPhone. It's not the biggest iOS update, but you're missing out if you haven't downloaded it. 

The follow-up to iOS 15.4 offers a few small upgrades and improvements to apps that lay the groundwork for larger iPhone updates in the future (maybe in the form of iOS 16 ). Instead of bigger new features like Universal Control and mask-friendly Face ID , iOS 15.5 brings updates to Apple Cash, Photo Memories and the Podcasts app, to name a few. 

Here's everything you need to know about iOS 15.5 and its new features. For more, check out CNET's biggest hopes for iOS 16 (we could get a look at the next major iPhone update at Apple's WWDC  in June) and what you can do to give your iPhone a privacy boost . Plus, there's a secret trackpad on your iPhone that'll make typing way easier.

iOS 15.5 release date

Apple released iOS 15.5 on May 16, alongside iPadOS 15.5.

How do I download iOS 15.5? 

You can download iOS 15.5 by going to  Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install . The 15.5 update is about 630MB. 

The biggest functional change in 15.5 is the inclusion of Send and Request buttons for  Apple Cash . With these buttons in iOS 15.5, you can receive and send money directly from your Apple Cash card, saving you a few steps for those transactions.

Podcasts app

A new feature in iOS 15.5 lets you change the settings in the podcast app to better manage your phone's storage. The setting allows you to limit the episodes stored on your phone and can automatically delete older episodes.

"Sensitive locations" in Photo Memories

iOS 15.5 tweaks the Memories function of Photos. Photos will no longer recommend Memories from "sensitive locations," which 9to5Mac notes are currently all related to the Holocaust. Apple could expand that list of locations in the future. 

iTunes Pass renamed Apple Balance

Another change is that the iTunes Pass feature for Wallet is renamed Apple Balance. You'll now find a separate card in Apple Wallet for Apple Balance, similar to how a credit card shows up in your Wallet. 

Apple Classical

There's no Apple Classical app in iOS 15.5. But  MacRumors  found references to a new Apple Classical app in the 15.5 beta that seems to be the endgame for  Apple's acquisition of  classical music streaming service  Primephonic  last year. Future iOS updates could include a stand-alone app for classical music. 

More SportsKit support

iOS 15.5 also offers more support for SportsKit as Apple brings live baseball into its content catalog. 

While you're exploring the changes to iOS 15.5, check out all the rumors we've heard about Apple's iOS 16 . We'll also show you how to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask and the newest privacy features you should try out . We also answer the question of when Apple's developer conference, WWDC, is being held this year , where we expect the first glance at iOS 16. Here's what we know about this year's WWDC keynote address .

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Ios 15.5 is out now: every new feature coming to your iphone.

After entering into development in April 2022, iOS 15.5 is now available for all users. Here are the new iOS 15.5 features coming to the iPhone.

Apple is rolling out iOS 15.5 for all users. The update comes just before Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2022 , scheduled to take place next month. At the event, Apple is expected to reveal the iOS 16. While the Cupertino-based tech giant could announce the first preview of the iOS 16 at the event, it may release the operating system later this year along with the new iPhone. Last year, Apple launched the iOS 15 at WWDC 2021, but at first, only the iPhone 13 had the new operating system.

iOS 15.5 is the successor to iOS 15.4, launched in March 2022 . The iOS 15.4 came out with headlining features, including Face ID with a Mask and Universal Control . While the former allows users to unlock their iPhone using FaceID while wearing a mask, the latter enables them to use the same set of input devices (keyboard and mouse) to control a MacBook and an iPad simultaneously.

Related: iOS 16 Wishlist: 5 Things I Want In The Next iPhone Update

Apple started testing the iOS 15.5 in April 2022. As seen in the beta version of the operating system, Apple was expanding the 'SportsKit' framework, improved the Apple Cash card with 'Send' and 'Request' buttons, and worked on the new Apple Classical app. However, not all additions have made it to the final build of iOS 15.5, released by Apple on May 17, 2022. To download the latest version, head over to the 'Settings' app, tap on 'General,' then 'Software Update' to see if the update is available for your device yet.

What's New In iOS 15.5?

First, Universal Control is out of beta with iOS 15.5. Next up, the iOS 15.5 comes with a new setting in Apple Podcasts that allows users to limit episodes stored on their iPhones and delete the older ones. It will help users manage their storage better as automatic deletion of older episodes will free up space. Previously, users had to delete episodes in Apple Podcasts manually . Another significant improvement in the iOS 15.5 is that Apple Cash users will now be able to send and request money from others. Another feature included by Apple (not mentioned on the official Support page) allows users to sign up for a service from the Reader apps out of the App Store. For the uninitiated, Reader apps are applications like Netflix, Spotify, Hulu and more that provide access to either audio or video content.

Apart from this, the company mentions that it has fixed two errors related to the failure of home automation triggered by people arriving or leaving and the unexpected shutdown of the iPhone SE (3rd Gen) . Further, Apple is still working on its SportsKit, is expanding the Communication Safety feature for iMessage to regions like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK, and has reintroduced the Apple Music API in the latest iOS version. The iOS 15.5 update also contains about 20 security fixes for Safari 15.5 and tvOS 15.5, as mentioned on the  Apple support site . While the issues were not critical, users should still update to the latest version of iOS on their iPhones and iPads.

Next: Apple Expected To Announce Major Updates To iOS 16 and WatchOS 9 At WWDC

Source: Apple 1 , 2 , 3

iOS 15 is available today

Enhancements for More Natural FaceTime Calls

More Ways to Stay Connected with Messages

Powerful Tools to Find Focus in the Day

A Fresh New Look for Notifications

On-Device Intelligence Delivers Live Text, Advanced Spotlight Search, and Memories

Redesigned Browsing with Safari

Navigate and Explore with Apple Maps

New Keys and State IDs Come to Apple Wallet

Redesigned Weather Experience

Organize and Collaborate in Notes

More Privacy Controls

Additional Features

• Siri adds Announce Notifications on AirPods and the ability for users to share what’s on their screen just by asking. Siri can now be enabled in third-party HomeKit accessories, so HomePod and HomePod mini users can easily and securely ask Siri to send a message, set a reminder, or broadcast an Intercom message to the family from more devices in the home. 7
• iCloud+ combines everything users love about iCloud with new premium features, including Hide My Email, expanded HomeKit Secure Video support, and an innovative new internet privacy service, iCloud Private Relay. 8 Current iCloud storage subscribers will be upgraded to iCloud+ automatically at no additional cost. All iCloud+ plans can be shared with people in the same Family Sharing group, so everyone can enjoy the new features, storage, and elevated experience that comes with the service.
• The Health app gets a new sharing tab that lets users share their health data with family, caregivers, or a care team, trends give users a way to focus attention on meaningful changes in personal health metrics, and Walking Steadiness is a new metric that empowers people to proactively manage their fall risk. Users also have the ability to store verifiable COVID-19 vaccination or test result records directly in the Health app, so they can easily access them at any time.
• Translate adds a new Auto Translate feature that automatically detects when a user begins speaking and translates speech without tapping the microphone button, allowing for conversation across languages to flow more naturally. Systemwide translation makes it possible to translate text anywhere on iPhone by selecting it and tapping Translate.
• New iPhone setup makes it more seamless than ever to get started with iPhone. Existing iPhone users can temporarily back up data to iCloud — even without a subscription — to easily transfer their data to a new iPhone. 9 For those moving to iPhone for the first time, an improved Move to iOS experience easily transfers photo albums, files, folders, and Accessibility settings, so iPhone feels personal right from the start.
• Accessibility features include the ability to explore people, objects, text, and tables within images in more detail with VoiceOver, and new background sounds play continuously in the background to mask unwanted environmental or external noise. Sound actions customize Switch Control to work with mouth sounds, and users can customize display and text size settings on an app-by-app basis. Apple is also bringing support for recognizing imported audiograms — charts that show the results of a hearing test — to Headphone Accommodations.

Text of this article

September 20, 2021

iOS 15 introduces new ways to stay connected, powerful updates that help users focus and explore, and intelligent features to get more done with iPhone. FaceTime updates provide more natural video calls, Focus helps users reduce distraction, new features like Live Text use on-device intelligence to surface useful information, upgrades to Maps provide brand new ways to navigate the world, and much more. iOS 15 is available today as a free software update.

FaceTime is more essential than ever, giving users a way to easily connect with the people who matter most. Powerful updates to FaceTime audio and video features make calls feel more natural and lifelike. With spatial audio, voices in a Group FaceTime call sound like they’re coming from the direction in which the person is positioned on the screen. 1 Voice Isolation, a new microphone mode, uses machine learning to eliminate background noise and prioritize the user’s voice, while Wide Spectrum allows for every bit of background sound to come through. Inspired by the stunning portrait photos taken on iPhone, Portrait mode in FaceTime blurs a user’s background and puts them at the focus. 2 Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum, and Portrait mode can also be used with third-party apps, such as Webex, Zoom, and WhatsApp. Group FaceTime gives the option to display participants in same-size tiles in a new grid view.

FaceTime calls now extend beyond Apple devices, so people using an Android or Windows device can join from their web browser. FaceTime calls on the web remain end-to-end encrypted so privacy is not compromised. To initiate the call, iPhone, iPad, and Mac users simply create a FaceTime link and share it through Messages, Calendar, Mail, or third-party apps, making it easier than ever to connect with friends and family.

Later this fall, SharePlay will deliver a new way for users to share experiences with friends and family while on a FaceTime call, such as listening to songs together, watching a TV show or movie, completing a workout together, or sharing their screen to view apps. SharePlay will work with apps like Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Fitness+, as well as Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, SoundCloud, TikTok, Twitch, and many others. SharePlay can be accessed through iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and with shared playback controls, anyone in a SharePlay session can play, pause, or jump ahead. SharePlay even extends to Apple TV, so users can watch shows or movies on a big screen.

Shared with You is a new section that appears in Photos, Safari, Apple News, Music, Apple Podcasts, and the Apple TV app that displays the photos, articles, music, and other content shared by friends and family in Messages. Shared with You automatically displays shared photos in the Photos app, news stories in Apple News, and other relevant content in the corresponding app. The Shared with You section shows who sent the content, and makes it easy to view the associated message and restart the conversation.

In iOS 15, Memoji brings even more ways for users to express themselves with multicolored headwear, more glasses styles, and new accessibility options including cochlear implants, oxygen tubes, and a soft helmet. Memoji stickers can be customized with more than 40 outfit options and nine new sticker poses including a shaka, hand wave, and light bulb moment.

iOS 15 introduces Focus, a new way to help users reduce distraction by filtering notifications based on what a user wants to focus on in that moment. For example, the Work Focus can be set during work hours to only allow notifications from coworkers and apps that are used for work, the Personal Focus can be used when taking a break with friends and family, or the Fitness Focus can help a user stay in the zone while completing a workout. Users can create a custom Focus or select a provided Focus, which uses on-device intelligence to suggest which notifications from people and apps are allowed. To further extend the ability to focus, users can create dedicated Home Screen pages with relevant apps and widgets to match a specific Focus.

While using Focus, a status is automatically displayed to contacts in Messages and supported third-party communication apps like Slack, so they know not to interrupt. Users will even receive suggestions to turn on a Focus based on factors like time of day or location, and when Focus is set on one Apple device, it automatically applies to all of a user’s Apple devices.

Notifications have been redesigned, adding contact photos for people and larger icons for apps that make them even easier to identify. The notification summary is a collection of notifications delivered each day at scheduled times determined by the user. Using on-device intelligence, the summary is arranged by priority, with the most relevant notifications rising to the top based on how a user interacts with apps. Time-sensitive notifications, messages, and phone calls will be delivered immediately, so users won’t miss timely alerts, and it’s easy to temporarily mute any app or messaging thread for an hour or for the day.

Live Text makes text in photos interactive. Using on-device intelligence, Live Text recognizes text in photos across the entire system including the web, and allows users to take action, such as copy and paste, look up information, and translate. Users can even tap the image of a phone number to make a call, or the image of a web address to open a page in Safari. With the power of the Neural Engine, the Camera app can also quickly recognize and copy text in the moment, such as the Wi-Fi password displayed at a local coffee shop. With Visual Look Up, users can learn more about popular art, landmarks, and books, plants and flowers found in nature, and breeds of pets.

Spotlight is the universal way to start searches on iPhone and now it can be accessed directly from the Lock Screen, and includes the ability to search photos by location, people, scenes, or objects. Using Live Text, Spotlight can find text and handwriting in photos.

iOS 15 delivers the biggest update ever to Memories. With a fresh new look, interactive interface, and integration with Apple Music that uses on-device intelligence to suggest music tracks, new cinematic Memories makes it easier to relive favorite or forgotten moments.

Safari introduces a newly designed browsing experience that makes controls easier to reach. By default, the new tab bar is positioned at the bottom of the screen, so users can easily swipe between tabs with one hand. Tab Groups allow users to organize tabs and easily access them at any time across iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and a customizable start page and web extensions on iOS make Safari more powerful and personal than ever.

Maps in iOS 15 introduces a whole new way of looking at the world. A visually stunning map offers unprecedented levels of detail for neighborhoods, commercial districts, buildings, as well as custom-designed landmarks, and a new night-time mode with a moonlit glow. Navigation features a new three-dimensional driving view with road details that help users more easily identify turn lanes, medians, crosswalks, and sidewalks. The enhanced map is available in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, with more to come. A beautifully designed interactive globe provides rich detail for mountain ranges, deserts, rainforests, and bodies of water. 

Transit riders can get one-tap access to all departures near them and pin their favorite lines. Maps automatically follows along with a selected transit route, notifying users when it’s nearly time to disembark, and riders can even keep track on Apple Watch. By simply holding up iPhone, users can receive detailed walking directions in augmented reality. 

With iOS 15, users can access even more places with just a tap of their iPhone with new home, hotel, office, and car keys in Wallet. Digital car keys get even better with support for Ultra Wideband technology, so users can securely lock, unlock, and start their supported vehicle without removing their iPhone from a pocket or bag. 3 iPhone can also be used to unlock a user’s home, office, or even a hotel room — all through keys stored in Wallet. 4 Additionally, users will be able to add eligible state IDs and driver’s licenses to Wallet on iPhone as this option becomes available in their state in the future. 5

Weather includes an all-new design with full-screen maps, graphical displays of weather data, and dynamic layouts that change based on conditions. Beautifully animated backgrounds more accurately reflect sun position, clouds, and precipitation, and notifications indicate when rain or snow is about to start or stop.

Notes adds user-created tags that make it easy to quickly categorize notes and mentions that allow members of shared notes to notify one another of important updates. An all-new Activity view shows the recent history of a shared note, and Highlights reveals details on who made the changes. Quick Notes created on Mac and iPad can be viewed and edited in Notes.

New privacy features provide even more transparency and control over the data users provide to apps. Mail Privacy Protection prevents senders from learning whether an email has been opened, and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location or use it to build a profile on them. Siri’s protection of user privacy goes even further with on-device speech recognition as users’ audio requests are now processed entirely on device by default, enabling more personalization, offline requests, and faster performance. 6

Pricing and Availability

iOS 15 is a free software update that is available starting today for iPhone 6s and later. For more information, visit apple.com/ios/ios-15 . Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.

• Available on iPhone and iPad with A12 Bionic and later and Mac models (2018 or later).
• Available on iPhone and iPad with A12 Bionic and later and Mac computers with the M1 chip.
• Digital car keys are available on iPhone XS and later and require a participating car manufacturer.
• Support for new keys requires an iPhone running iOS 15 and a compatible door lock for apartments, homes, offices, and hotels that will be available through third parties.
• Participating states will share more information at a later date about when support for mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs in Wallet will be available to their residents.
• Available on iPhone and iPad with A12 Bionic and later. Requires download of speech models.
• Requires HomePod or HomePod mini with HomePod software 15.0 or later and a compatible HomeKit accessory.
• iCloud+ plans: 50GB with one HomeKit Secure Video camera ($0.99 per month), 200GB with up to five HomeKit Secure Video cameras ($2.99 per month), and 2TB with an unlimited number of HomeKit Secure Video cameras ($9.99 per month). iCloud Private Relay will initially be released as a public beta.
• Requires an iPhone running iOS 15.

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iOS 15.5 is here — here's the new features for your iPhone

Changes to Podcasts and Wallet highlight latest iOS update

iOS 15.5 is now available, and judging by the nature of the changes in this update, Apple is ready to move on to iOS 16 .

The new update, widely available to the public after a beta testing period, mostly features under-the-hood changes, with a minimum of user-facing enhancements. That's a far cry from previous iOS 15 updates, which have ushered in a host of new features. The last big update to Apple's phone software, iOS 15.4 , added the ability to use Face ID when you're wearing a mask plus a new voice for Siri , just as example.

Still, iOS 15.5 promises a few notable changes. Here's an overview of what the update delivers.

Episode management tools for Podcasts

Podcasts listeners who find themselves short on storage space for their iPhones will welcome an update to Apple's built-in Podcasts app for iOS 15.5. You can now specify how many episodes of each show you want to keep on your iPhone at any one time. As part of the update, older episode will get automatically deleted from your phone.

Before iOS 15.5, podcast episodes could pile up on your device, eating away at your on-device storage. That's particularly burdensome if you bought an iPhone back before Apple bumped the minimum storage to 128GB. Now, you can use a new setting to make sure that only recent episodes are staying on your device.

The new control is a little difficult to find as it's located in the Settings app. Go to Settings and scroll down to Podcasts. After you select Podcasts, tap the Automatically Download option. By default, the feature is turned off, but you can specify that it downloads anywhere from the latest episode to the last 10 episodes. You can also specify downloads by time or just have the Podcasts app download all new episodes.

Putting a limit on the number of episodes you keep around can pay dividends right away. I set Podcasts to only download the three latest episodes, and ended up clearing off 56 episodes from my device. If you watch the following video (and follow Tom's Guide on TikTok ) you can see how it helps immediately with your storage.

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Easier payment methods for Apple Pay Cash in Wallets

Apple Pay Cash is a great way to send money to friends and family (or to receive money, which frankly, is even better). But its use in the Wallet app was so clunky, I often found myself heading to Messages when it was time to repay someone for dinner or tickets.

In iOS 15.5, it's much easier to request or send cash using Apple Pay Cash from within the Wallet app, as Apple has added buttons labeled Request and Send. Tap on either and you're prompted to pick a sender/recipient; from there you can enter an amount.

Apple Account Card

Speaking of the Wallet app, it's getting another new feature as of iOS 15.5. You now have the option of adding an Apple Account Card to your digital wallet, consolidating the balances associated with your Apple ID.

The Apple Account Card revives and replaces the iTunes Pass, adding the ability to also pay for Apple Store purchases from you Apple account balance. That means you can buy Apple gear in addition to apps, music and other downloads.

Other iOS 15.5 changes

The other reported changes in iOS 15.5 are fairly minor or just Apple tidying things up. The most significant of these isn't even aimed at users, but rather app makers who want to offer subscriptions outside of the App Store. iOS 15.5 adds a way for these app makers to add links external websites where users can create or manage subscriptions. The feature is aimed at magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video services, and seems to be a way to keep any regulatory heat off of Apple and its closed ecosystem.

Other iOS 15.5 additions include:

• A list of Sensitive Locations is now part of the Photos app to keep visits to place like Holocaust memorials out of the Memories slideshows that the app auto-generates.
• The Home app adds Wi-Fi signal bars to show that a HomePod has a connection.
• For iPadOS 15.5, Universal Control is now officially out of beta. That's the feature that let you use input devices across your iPad and Mac.

Code spotted during the iOS 15.5 beta process referred to Apple Classical, a rumored streaming app geared toward classical music. However, you won't find the app in iOS 15.5, which means Apple could be laying the groundwork for a new addition to iOS 16.

iOS 15.5 arrives three weeks prior to the Apple WWDC 2022 event in June. At that event, we're expecting to see an iOS 16 preview, as Apple shifts its development efforts toward the next major update to its iPhone software. Thats not to say Apple won't update iOS 15 going forward — indeed, after this article was published, Apple released an iOS 15.6 beta to developers and beta program participants. Future iOS 15 updates will likely be geared more toward bug fixes and security patches. The initial iOS 15.6 beta, for instance, has no release notes detailing new capabilities, suggesting that this is a maintenance release.

How to get iOS 15.5

Assuming you're not part of the iOS public beta and already have the software update on your phone, downloading iOS 15.5 is simply a matter of going to Settings, tapping General, and selecting Software Update. The new version should be waiting there for you to download.

Apple is also testing iOS 15.6 beta for developers currently. This update brings some minor tweaks ahead of the iOS 16 launch at WWDC 2022 .

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

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• iOS 15 Overview

How to Download and Install iOS 15

Current version, notifications redesign, child safety features, other features, ios 15 guides and how tos, ios 15 supported devices, ios 15 release date, ios 15 timeline.

Apple in June 2021 introduced the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 15, which was released on September 20, 2021. iOS 15 introduces new features for FaceTime calls, tools to reduce distractions, a new notifications experience, added privacy features, complete redesigns for Safari, Weather, and Maps, and more.

Notifications have been redesigned in iOS 15, adding contact photos for people and larger icons for apps. To reduce distraction, a notification summary collects notifications together for delivery at an appropriate time and arranges notifications by priority.

Focus is a new feature that can filter notifications and apps based on what a user wishes to focus on at a certain time. When a user's Focus is blocking incoming notifications, their status will be displayed to others in Messages. iOS will suggest a Focus for different occasions, such as work hours or winding down for bed, using on-device intelligence, but users can also create a custom Focus. When a Focus is set on one Apple device, it automatically applies to other Apple devices.

Safari features a completely new design . Controls are now easier to reach with one hand and give more focus to a webpage's content. There is a new, compact tab bar that floats at the bottom of the screen so users can easily swipe between tabs. Tab Groups allow users to save tabs and easily access them at any time across devices. There is also a customizable start page and web extensions for the first time.

The Maps app now offers a new 3D view in cities with significantly enhanced details, showing buildings, pedestrian crosswalks, bike lanes, and more. There is a new city-driving experience with added road details and improved Transit features , such as pinned favorite lines, notifications to disembark, and AR walking directions.

iOS 15 brings voice isolation and Spatial Audio to FaceTime calls so that voices sound as if they are coming from where the person is located on the screen. FaceTime also supports Portrait mode and offers a new grid view to see more faces at the same time. SharePlay is a new feature that allows users to share media together in sync during a FaceTime call. Users can also generate shareable links to a scheduled FaceTime call, which can also be opened on Android and Windows devices.

The Weather app has been redesigned in iOS 15, showing more graphical displays of weather data, full-screen maps, and dynamic layouts that change based on weather conditions. Totally new animated backgrounds can now more accurately reflect the sun's position and current precipitation, and there are notifications to highlight when rain or snow starts and stops.

The Wallet app adds support for new key types in iOS 15, such as homes, offices, or hotel rooms. In 2022, customers in participating U.S. states will be able to add a driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app.

The Photos app features a major update to Memories with a new design and an interactive interface. Memories now supports integration with Apple Music , using on-device intelligence to offer song suggestions for personalized Memories.

Live Text is a new feature that uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in a photo that users can search for, highlight, and copy. Spotlight can now search for photos by location, people, scenes, objects, and text. Spotlight also offers web image search and richer results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies. Enhanced results for contacts show recent conversations, shared photos, and location if it is shared through Find My.

iOS 15 also introduces new privacy measures , such as processing Siri requests directly on the iPhone , which has the added benefit of better responsiveness, Mail Privacy Protection to stop senders knowing if an email has been opened and detecting a recipient's IP address, and an App Privacy Report view to show how often apps use the permissions they have been granted.

There are dozens of tweaks and changes for other apps, such as user-created tags , mentions , and an Activity view in the Notes app, Trends , Walking Steadiness , and a new sharing tab in the Health app, a systemwide Shared with You feature for highlighting content that has been shared in Messages conversations, and a new For All of You row in the TV app to recommend entertainment for the whole household.

iOS 15 is compatible with the iPhone 6s and later, which means it runs on all devices that are able to run iOS 14, and it was released on September 20, 2021.

Note: See an error in this roundup or want to offer feedback? Send us an email here .

iOS 15 is available to all users with compatible devices now, and it is possible to update in the Software Update section of the Settings app.

Questions or issues can be directed to our iOS 15 forum where readers are discussing the release.

The current version of iOS 15 is iOS 15.7.1 , featuring security updates. A previous update, iOS 15.6, added the ability to restart, pause, rewind, and fast-forward live sports games in the TV app and bug fixes for Settings, Safari, and braille devices.

A previous update, iOS 15.5 , added the ability to send and request money using Apple Cash in the Wallet app, settings to limit downloaded podcast episodes , external links in reader apps, Communication Safety in more countries around the world, references to Apple Classical, SportsKit improvements, rebranding of iTunes Pass to "Apple Balance," bug fixes, and more .

iOS 15.4 added new emojis , support for third-party apps to implement 120Hz animations on ProMotion displays, EU vaccine certificates in the Wallet app , the ability to use Face ID while wearing a mask with an iPhone 12 or newer, the ability to turn off notifications for Shortcuts automations, an Apple Card widget, iCloud Keychain notes, improvements to saving passwords , custom email domains , SharePlay in the share sheet, anti-stalking improvements for AirTags, a new Siri voice, the ability to restore a nearby Apple Watch , a range of other security improvements and bug fixes, and more .

A previous update, iOS 15.2, introduced a large number of new features , including the ability to scan for nearby AirTags and Find My-enabled devices, App Privacy Report , a Macro Mode toggle in the Camera app, playlist search in Apple Music, Hide My Email , Emergency SOS improvements, Communication Safety for kids, Digital Legacy , a redesigned notification summary, the Apple Music Voice Plan , and more .

• Face ID With a Mask: How It Works and What You Need to Know
• iOS 15.4: How to Set Up Face ID With a Mask
• iOS 15.4: How to Add Notes to iCloud Keychain Entries
• How to Restore Apple Watch Using Your iPhone

iOS 15 introduces completely redesigned notifications. Notifications will now display contact photos for people and larger icons for apps to make them easier to identify.

There is an all-new personalized notification summary that collects non-urgent notifications together to be delivered at a more appropriate time, such as in the morning or evening. Notifications in the summary are arranged by priority using on-device intelligence that analyzes the user's interactions with apps, with the most important and relevant notifications rising to the top. Urgent messages and time-sensitive notifications will still be delivered immediately.

There is now the option to mute any app or messaging thread's notifications temporarily, and iOS 15 will suggest muting a thread if it is unusually active but you are not engaging with it.

There is also a new notification API for developers, allowing them to send Time Sensitive notifications and adopt the new look for notifications coming from people.

• iOS 15: How to Set Up a Notification Summary

iOS 15 features a new tool to help users reduce distraction called Focus. A Focus can filter notifications and Home Screen pages based on what a users wishes to focus on at a particular time, while still allowing urgent notifications through. When a user's Focus is currently blocking incoming notifications, their status is automatically displayed to other people in Messages, showing that a user is not currently available unless it is urgent.

iOS will automatically suggest Focuses to users using on-device intelligence to determine which people and apps should notify them at certain times. Focus suggestions are based on users' contexts, such as work hours, personal time, or winding down for bed. Users can also create a custom Focus to only show certain notifications and Home Screen pages, select allowed interruptions for the most important notifications and apps, and set up auto-replies for Messages during a Focus.

When a user sets a Focus, it syncs across Apple devices. Developers can implement a new Status API for third-party messaging apps to reflect a Focus status.

• iOS 15: How to Create a Focus
• iOS 15: How to Delete a Focus
• iOS 15: How to Customize a Focus
• iOS 15: How to Activate a Focus
• How to Schedule and Automate Focus Modes
• iOS 15: How to Allow Time Sensitive Notifications to Bypass Focus Mode
• iOS 15: How to Adjust Home Screen and Lock Screen Settings in Focus Mode
• iOS 15: How to Enable Smart Activation for Focus Modes

Spotlight can now use intelligence to search for photos by location, people, scenes, or objects, and using the new Live Text feature, Spotlight can find text and handwriting in photos.

Spotlight also supports web image searches and significantly richer results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies. Enhanced results for contact cards show recent conversations, shared photos, and location if it is shared through Find My.

It is also possible to access Spotlight from the Lock Screen and quickly install apps from the App Store without leaving Spotlight. For businesses that support App Clips, there is an action button on the Maps result in Spotlight.

• iOS 15: How to Use Spotlight to Search for Photos

In iOS 15, FaceTime offers Spatial Audio so that voices in a video call sound as if they are coming from where the person is located on the screen. There are also new microphone modes to separate a user's voice from background noise or introduce background noise in Wide Spectrum mode if desired.

FaceTime now features Portrait mode for video calls, so users are able to blur out their background and put themselves in focus, and mute alerts so it is clearer when you are speaking on mute. There is also a new grid view for group FaceTime calls, enabling participants to see more faces at the same time, and an optical zoom control for the back camera.

• iOS 15: How to Blur Your Background on a FaceTime Call
• iOS 15: How to Block Background Noise in FaceTime With Voice Isolation
• iOS 15: How to Enable Wide Spectrum Audio on a FaceTime Call

SharePlay is a new feature that allows users to share experiences with each other during FaceTime calls, including media like Apple Music songs, TV shows, or movies. Media is played in sync for all participants and there are shared playback controls, so anyone in a SharePlay session can play, pause, or skip content, as well as add to a shared queue. SharePlay also gives users the ability to share their screens to view apps together in a FaceTime call.

Third-party apps such as Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, and others have committed to integrating SharePlay.

SharePlay extends to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, so users can watch shows or movies on a bigger screen while connecting over FaceTime. Smart volume control dynamically and automatically adjusts audio so you can hear your friends even when shared content is playing loudly. SharePlay also features in-app Messages controls.

• iOS 15: How to Share Your Screen on a FaceTime Call
• iOS 15: How to Watch Movies and TV Shows Together Using FaceTime

FaceTime Links

Users can now create a link to a FaceTime call and share it through Messages, Calendar, Mail, or third-party apps.

FaceTime links can be opened to use the FaceTime app on Apple devices, but they can also be opened through a web browser, bringing FaceTime to Android and Windows for the first time. FaceTime calls on the web remain end-to-end encrypted to guarantee privacy.

• iOS 15: How to Invite Android Users to a FaceTime Call

The Photos app contains a considerable update to Memories, which now features a new design, integration with Apple Music, a more interactive interface, and Memory looks.

Memories will suggest songs based on your Apple Music listening history that synchronize with videos and photos for a more personalized experience. Users can customize memories by swiping through Memory mixes, which let you audition different songs with a different pace and atmosphere.

There are 12 Memory looks that add mood by analyzing each photo and video and applying the correct amount of contrast and color adjustment for a consistent look. There are also new Memory types, including additional international holidays, child-focused memories, trends over time, and improved pet memories, including the ability to recognize individual dogs and cats.

It is also possible to view and edit all of the content from a Memory in a bird's-eye view, and a Watch Next section suggests related memories to watch.

People identification features improved recognition for individuals, and it is easier to correct naming mistakes in the People album. There is an option to Feature Less to let Photos know that you would prefer to see less of a specific date, place, holiday, or person across Featured Photos, the Photos widget, Memories, and highlighted in the Library tab.

In iOS 15, Photos features a richer Info pane to view information about the photo, such as the camera, lens, and shutter speed, the file size, or who sent a Shared with You photo in Messages. You can also edit the date taken or location, add a caption, and learn about items detected by Visual Look Up.

The Photos image picker, including in the Messages app, now allows you to select photos in a specific order for sharing. Third-party apps can also offer simpler selection workflows when you grant access to specific content in the Photos library.

Apple also says that the initial sync of iCloud Photos on a new device is faster in iOS 15.

• iOS 15: How to Copy and Paste Text From Photos
• iOS 15: How to Adjust the Date and Time of Photos
• iOS 15: How to View EXIF Metadata in the Photos App
• iOS 15: How to Add Apple Music Songs to Your Memories in Photos
• iOS 15: How to Enhance Photos App Memories With 'Memory Looks'
• iOS 15: How to Use Visual Lookup in Photos to Identify Landmarks, Plants, and Pets
• iOS 15: How to Get the Photos App to Feature a Person Less Often
• iOS 15: How to Correct Errors in the Photos People Album

Maps now features an interactive globe view and significantly enhanced details in a new 3D view for cities. Neighborhoods, commercial districts, elevation, buildings, and more are now displayed in detail, alongside new road colors and labels, custom-designed landmarks, and a new "moonlit" night-time mode.

The Maps app also offers a new 3D city-driving experience with road details such as turn lanes, medians, bike lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks, that works both on the iPhone and in Apple CarPlay.

Transit navigation has been redesigned and travelers can now find nearby stations more easily and pin their favorite lines. Maps will automatically follow along a selected transit route, notifying users when it is almost time to disembark.

There is also a new walking directions view that uses augmented reality. Users simply hold up their iPhone, and the Maps app will generate an accurate position to deliver detailed walking directions using the camera.

Redesigned place cards make it easier to find and interact with information about businesses, locations, and physical features. There is a new Guides Home that features editorially curated information about new places.

When searching for a new location, there are new options to filter results by criteria like cuisine or opening times. Maps will also automatically update search results when moving around and the most-used settings are now located in one, simpler location.

• iOS 15: How to Set Leaving and Arrival Times for Driving Directions in Apple Maps
• iOS 15: How to Use the Interactive Maps Globe
• iOS 15: How to Filter Search Results in Maps
• iOS 15: How to Find User Settings in Maps
• iOS 15: How to Get AR Walking Directions in Maps
• iOS 15: How to Find Fun Things to Do With the Dedicated Apple Maps Guide Section
• iOS 15: How to Find Transit Stations Near You in Apple Maps

The Wallet app supports additional types of keys in iOS 15, such as home, office, corporate, or hotel room key cards.

The Wallet app is also expanding its support of car keys, now using Ultra Wideband to unlock, lock, and start your car without having to take your iPhone out of your pocket. Ultra Wideband also gives precise spatial awareness, meaning that iOS will stop you from locking your car while your iPhone is inside or start your vehicle when your iPhone is outside.

Wallet now supports remote keyless entry controls, allowing you to lock or unlock your car, honk your horn, preheat your car, or open your trunk.

Starting in early 2022 , customers in participating states in the U.S. will be able to add their driver's license or state IDs to the Wallet app. According to Apple, the Transportation Security Administration is working to enable airport security checkpoints as the first place customers can use their digital Identity Card in Wallet.

The Wallet app will also now automatically archive expired boarding passes and event tickets. Safari also supports adding multiple passes to Wallet in one action instead of having to manually add one pass at a time.

iOS 15 brings a completely new design to Safari. Controls are brought to the bottom of the screen so that they are easier to reach with one hand.

There is a new, compact tab bar that floats at the bottom of the screen so that users can easily swipe between tabs, and it also contains a Smart Search field. Tab Groups allow users to save their tabs in a folder and sync across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In addition, there is a new tab overview grid view.

Users can simply pull down a web page to refresh it and there is now support for voice search. Safari also gains a customizable start page and mobile web extensions for the first time.

iOS 15 features new Safari privacy protections, including Intelligent Tracking Prevention that prevents trackers from profiling you using your IP address, and Safari will automatically upgrade sites known to support HTTPS from insecure HTTP.

• iOS 15: How to Hide Your IP Address From Trackers in Safari
• iOS 15: How to Turn Off Website Tinting in Safari
• iOS 15: How to Switch Back to the Original Safari Design
• iOS 15: How to Download and Install Safari Web Extensions
• iOS 15: How to Quickly Refresh a Webpage in Safari
• iOS 15: How to Customize Your Safari Start Page
• iOS 15: How to Use Tab Groups in Safari

Content sent to you in Messages automatically appears in a new "Shared with You" section in the corresponding app. Shared with You is featured in Photos, Safari, Apple News, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and the Apple TV app. Users can pin notable content that has been shared with them so that it is elevated in Shared with You, Messages search, and the Details view of the conversation.

Groups of photos sent in Messages now appear as a glanceable collage or a swipeable stack, depending on how many have been sent. It is also now possible to find images shared through Messages using a contact name.

iOS 15 allows users to seamlessly switch between phone numbers in the middle of an iMessage conversation on an iPhone with Dual SIM support, including the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and newer.

Messages also gains some regional improvements in iOS 15, such as unwanted SMS filtering in Brazil and notification options in India and China, allowing users to turn off notifications for types of messages they choose.

• iOS 15: How to See All the Photos People Have Shared With You in Messages

The Weather app has been totally redesigned in iOS 15. The Weather app now features more graphical displays for weather data, a full-screen map, and a dynamic layout that changes based on outside conditions.

Apple has redesigned the Weather app's animated backgrounds to more accurately reflect the sun's current position and precipitation conditions. There are also notifications to highlight when rain or snow starts and stops.

• iOS 15: How to Use Apple's New Weather Maps
• iOS 15: How to Get Weather Notifications on Your iPhone

In iOS 15, the Health app has a new sharing tab that allows users to share their selected health data with family or caregivers. Lab results have been enhanced with descriptions, highlights, and the option to pin results for quick access. Health can now detect Trends, drawing users' attention to meaningful changes in personal health metrics.

The Health app also adds Walking Steadiness as a new metric to help manage fall risk. COVID-19 immunizations and test results can be stored in the Health app using a QR code from a healthcare provider. Blood glucose highlights now show levels during sleep and exercise, and feature interactive charts.

The Find My app introduces new abilities to help locate a lost device that has been turned off or erased using the Find My network. A family member or friend who chooses to share their location with you will now continuously live-stream their location to provide a sense of direction and speed.

Apple is adding Find My network support to third-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max, and there is a new Find My widget for an at-a-glance look at locations. There are also new Separation Alerts to notify a user if they leave an AirTag, Apple device, or Find My accessory network behind in an unfamiliar location.

• iOS 15: How to Get Notified If You Leave an AirTag or Apple Device Behind
• iOS 15: How to Get Notified If You Leave Your AirPods Pro Behind
• How to Find Your AirPods Pro Using the Find My Network in iOS 15
• iOS 15.2: How to Help Return Lost Find My Items
• iOS 15.2 Beta: How to Use Find My to Locate Items That Can Track You

Notes in iOS 15 features user-created tags to conveniently sort and categorize notes in new ways. There is a Tag Browser to tap combinations of tags and quickly view tagged notes. There are also new custom folders that automatically collect notes based on tags.

For shared notes, it is now possible to mention other users to notify one another of updates, and an all-new Activity view shows the recent edit history.

• iOS 15: How to Use Tags to Organize Your Notes
• iOS 15.4: How to Scan Printed and Handwritten Notes into the Notes App

Reminders now features tags to help with organization, and it is possible to search and filter reminders based on tags. There is a new Tag Browser to tap combinations of tags and quickly view tagged reminders. There are also new custom smart lists that automatically collect reminders together based on tags.

iOS 15 also brings quick-access options to easily delete completed reminders, improved natural language support, and expanded suggested attributes such as tags, flags, priority, and more.

In iOS 15, Siri requests are processed on-device using the Neural Engine, increasing security and significantly boosting responsiveness, while also no longer needing an internet connection.

On-device speech recognition and understanding improve as you use your device. Siri is also able to learn about the contacts you interact with most, new words you type, and topics you read about to provide better responses.

Siri can now share onscreen items such as photos, web pages, content from Apple Music or Apple Podcasts, Apple News stories, Maps locations, and more, in a Message, or even take a screenshot to send. In addition, Siri can now use onscreen context to send a message or place a call.

Siri is now better at maintaining context between requests, so you can conversationally refer to what you previously asked. You can also make requests to control a HomeKit device at a specific time or under certain circumstances, like when you leave home.

Siri is also able to Announce Notifications, such as Reminders, on AirPods and in Apple CarPlay, and users can ask Siri what is on their screen.

Siri offers neural text-to-speech voice in more languages in iOS 15, including Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish. There is also Siri language support for Mixed English, Indic, and a mix of Indian English and a native language, including Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, and Punjabi.

• iOS 15: How to Share Whatever's On Your Screen Using Siri
• iOS 15: How to Ask Siri to Control Your HomeKit Devices at a Specific Time
• iOS 15: How to Use Siri Offline
• iOS 15: How to Have Siri Announce Your Notifications
• iOS 15: How to Use On-Device Siri

Apple has previewed new child safety features that will be coming to its platforms with software updates at an unspecified later date . The company said the features will be available in the U.S. only at launch and will be expanded to other regions over time , including the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Communication Safety

The Messages app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will be getting a new Communication Safety feature to warn children and their parents when receiving or sending sexually explicit photos. Apple has said that the Messages app will use on-device machine learning to analyze image attachments, and if a photo is determined to be sexually explicit, the photo will be automatically blurred and the child will be warned.

When a child attempts to view a photo flagged as sensitive in the Messages app, they will be alerted that the photo may contain private body parts, and that the photo may be hurtful. Depending on the age of the child, there will also be an option for parents to receive a notification if their child proceeds to view the sensitive photo or if they choose to send a sexually explicit photo to another contact after being warned.

The Communication Safety feature will be coming in updates to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey for accounts set up as families in iCloud. iMessage conversations will remain protected with end-to-end encryption, meaning that private communications will be unreadable to Apple.

Scanning Photos for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)

Using a new feature, Apple will be able to detect known Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) images stored in iCloud Photos, enabling Apple to report these instances to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a non-profit organization that works in collaboration with U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Apple says the method of detecting known CSAM is designed with user privacy in mind. Instead of scanning images in the cloud, Apple said the system will perform on-device matching against a database of known CSAM image hashes provided by the NCMEC and other child safety organizations. It will transform this database into an unreadable set of hashes that is securely stored on users' devices.

Before an image is stored in iCloud Photos, an on-device matching process will be performed for that image against the unreadable set of known CSAM hashes. If there is a match, the device creates a cryptographic safety voucher. This voucher is uploaded to iCloud Photos along with the image, and once an undisclosed threshold of matches is exceeded, Apple is able to interpret the contents of the vouchers for CSAM matches.

Apple then manually reviews each report to confirm there is a match, disables the user's iCloud account, and sends a report to NCMEC. Apple has not shared what its exact threshold is, but it has an "extremely high level of accuracy" to ensure that accounts are not incorrectly flagged.

The hashing technology, called NeuralHash, analyzes an image and converts it to a unique number specific to that image. The underlying technology behind Apple's system is quite complex and it has published a technical summary with more details.

Expanded CSAM Guidance in Siri and Search

Apple will expand guidance in Siri and Spotlight Search across devices by providing additional resources to help children and parents stay safe online and get help with unsafe situations. For example, users who ask Siri how they can report CSAM or child exploitation will be pointed to resources for where and how to file a report.

These updates to Siri and Search are coming in an update to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey.

• Find My widget - Shows the location of friends and personal items.
• Contacts widget - Shows family and friends reachable via Phone, Messages, FaceTime, Mail, or Find My. With Family Sharing, there are additional actions, like approving purchases or Screen Time requests.
• Game Center widgets - The Continue Playing widget shows your recently played Game Center enabled games across devices and the Friends Are Playing widget helps you discover the games your friends play.
• App Store widget - Shows stories, collections, and app events from the Today tab.
• Sleep widget - Displays data about how you slept and allows for review of your sleep schedule.
• Mail widget - Offers a glance at your latest emails and gives quick access to one of your mailboxes.
• Default widgets - There is a new default layout when you first upgrade to iOS 15 with the widgets from the apps you use most arranged in Smart Stacks.
• Intelligent widget suggestions - Suggested widgets for apps you already use can automatically appear in your Smart Stack at the right time based on your past activity. An option lets you add the widget to your stack so it is there persistently.
• Reorder Smart Stacks - Users can more easily reorder the widgets in their Smart Stacks directly from the Home Screen with new controls.
• System-wide translation - iOS 15 allows any text across the entire system to be translated by selecting it and tapping Translate. Users can then copy, save, replace the selected text, or open the translation in the Translate app. Users can also translate selected text in photos.
• Auto Translate - The Translate app will detect when you start speaking and can translate speech without the need to tap the microphone button in a conversation.
• Face to face view - Users can change the conversation view when speaking face to face so that each person can see the conversation from their own side.
• Redesigned conversations - Conversations can be started using the Conversation tab in landscape or portrait view, which then present a redesigned conversation view with chat bubbles so you can follow along more easily.
• Easier language selection - Selecting languages is now easier with new drop-down menus.
• For All of You - The TV app now features a new row titled "For All of You" to suggest a collection of shows and movies based on the interests of selected people or an entire household.
• Shared with You - The TV app now highlights all of the shows and movies that friends and family have shared in Messages.
• SharePlay - The TV app works with Messages and FaceTime to watch content with friends and family in sync using SharePlay.
• Streaming apps in Japan - The TV app now supports popular streaming apps in Japan.
• Smarter Shortcuts editor - Next Action Suggestions will offer options to help you complete the shortcut you are building.
• Cross-device management - Shortcuts will now synchronize across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
• Improved sharing - Shortcuts can be shared and downloaded with a link, without needing to manage security settings. Recipients will receive smart prompts to ensure that only approved data is shared.

Voice Memos

• Playback speed - There are new options to speed up or slow down playback of recordings.
• Skip silence - Voice Memos automatically analyzes recordings and automatically skips over gaps in your audio with a single tap.
• Improved sharing - It is possible to share multiple Voice Memos recordings at once.
• Improved Panorama captures - Panorama mode in iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro now has improved geometric distortion and can better capture moving subjects while also reducing image noise and banding.
• Zoom in QuickTake video - Users can swipe up or down while taking a QuickTake video to zoom in or out.
• Improved discovery - Podcasts creates personalized groups of suggested shows about specific topics.
• Shared with You - Share your favorite podcast episodes in the Messages app and find all the episodes shared with you in Listen Now.
• Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking - Listeners can now use AirPods Pro and AirPods Max to listen to music with Dolby Atmos and Apple's dynamic head tracking for a more immersive experience.
• Shared with You - The Music app will now highlight music shared with you from Messages.
• Redesigned News feed - The News feed now has a new design that makes it easier to browse and interact with articles. Information such as publication dates and bylines are more prominent, and you can now save and share stories directly from the feed.
• Shared with You - Stories sent to you from Messages now automatically appear in the Shared with You section in the Today and Following tabs in Apple News.
• In-app events - The App Store now makes it easier to discover current events within apps and games, including game competitions, movie premieres, or livestreamed experiences.
• Hide Installed Apps - The App Store will hide screenshots for already installed apps in search results.
• App Store widget - A new App Store widget shows stories, collections, and in-app events from the Today tab.
• Game Center recents and group invitations - Users' most recent Messages friends and groups are brought into Game Center-enabled games with a new multiplayer friend selector.
• Game Center friend requests - Game Center now shows incoming requests in the Game Center friend request inbox.
• Game highlights - Users can save a video clip of up to the last 15 seconds of gameplay by pressing the share button on game controllers like the Xbox Series X or Series S Wireless Controller or Sony PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller.
• Game Center widgets - There is a new Continue Playing widget that displays recently played Game Center-enabled games across devices. A Friends Are Playing widget helps users discover the games that their friends play.
• Focus for gaming - A suggested Focus for gaming lets users stay immersed in games by filtering out unwanted notifications.
• Live Text in photos - Live Text is a new feature that uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in Photos, screenshots, Quick Look, Safari, and in live previews with Camera. Users can then take action on it, such as highlighting to copy. Users will also be able to search for images in Spotlight or the Photos app based on recognized text.
• Visual Look Up - Swipe up or tap the new information button on any photo to highlight recognized objects and scenes, making it possible to learn more about the photo's content.

Apple Card and Apple Pay

• Advanced Fraud Protection - Apple Card users can have a security code that changes regularly to make online Card Number transactions more secure.
• Improved card number discoverability - Users can view their card number more quickly by opening their Apple Card in Wallet and tapping the card icon.
• Apple Pay new payment sheet design - A redesigned Apple Pay payment sheet allows users to add new cards and coupon codes inline. There is also an enhanced summary view that shows more detailed information, such as payment items, discounts, and subtotals.

Screen Time

• Downtime on demand - In iOS 15, it is possible to switch on downtime on demand, where only phone calls and apps you choose to allow will be available. Once enabled, a five-minute downtime reminder will be sent and downtime will be turned on until the end of the day.
• Screen Time API - Developers can use a Screen Time API in parental control apps to support a wider range of tools for parents. The API provides developers with features like core restrictions and device activity monitoring.
• New Memoji stickers - iOS 15 features nine new Memoji stickers to let you send a shaka, a hand wave, a lightbulb moment, and more.
• New clothing options - Over 40 new outfit choices with up to three color combinations, including for headware.
• Two different eye colors - Memoji now support a different color for your left eye and your right eye.
• New glasses options - Three new glasses options, including heart, star, and retro shapes.
• New accessibility options - Cochlear implants, oxygen tubes, and soft helmets are now represented in Memoji options.

• Enhanced connectivity using 5G - More app and system experiences are improved by using faster 5G, including support to back up to iCloud and restore from an iCloud backup, stream audio and video on Apple and third-party apps, download higher-quality Apple TV+ content, sync photos to iCloud Photos, update Apple News+ articles for offline reading, and download machine learning models.
• 5G preferred over Wi-Fi - Your iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max will now automatically prioritize 5G when Wi-Fi connectivity on networks you visit occasionally is slow, or when you are connected to captive or insecure networks.
• Mail Privacy Protection - Mail Privacy Protection prevents senders seeing your IP address or if you have opened their email.
• App Privacy Report - A new section in Settings allows users to see how often apps have accessed their location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts during the last seven days. It also shows which apps have contacted other domains and how recently they have contacted them.
• Secure paste - Developers can allow you to paste content from another app without having access to what you have copied until you want them to have access.
• Share current location - Developers can let you share your current location temporarily with a customizable button in their apps.
• Limited Photos Library access improvements - Developers are able to offer smart functionality when accessing the Photos library, requesting limited access to specific photos folders and album selection.

• iCloud Private Relay - iCloud Private Relay allows users to browse with Safari while encrypting all traffic from their device. Requests are sent though two separate internet relays and it is designed so nobody can use your IP address, location, and browsing activity to create a detailed profile on you.
• Hide My Email - Hide My Email allows users to create unique, random email addresses that forward to your personal inbox, so that you can send and receive emails without having to share your real email address.
• Custom email domain - Users can now personalize their iCloud Mail address with a custom domain name, and invite family members to use the same domain with their iCloud Mail accounts.
• HomeKit Secure Video - iCloud+ can store footage from more security cameras and does not contribute toward your iCloud storage allowance.

Setup Experience

• Temporary iCloud storage to transfer data - Users can now back up an unlimited amount of data to iCloud to move to a new device for up to three weeks for free.
• More content transferred from Android - Move to iOS can now also move photo albums, files and folders, and Accessibility settings.
• App discoverability - The Move to iOS app is now available in the Google Play Store via a QR code.
• Account Recovery Contacts - Users can now select one or more trusted people to become an Account Recovery Contact to help reset their password and regain access to their account.
• Digital Legacy program - The new Digital Legacy program allows you to designate individuals as Legacy Contacts so they can access your account and personal information in the event of your death.

Accessibility

• Explore images with VoiceOver - Users can now explore people, objects, text, and tables within images in more detail with VoiceOver.
• VoiceOver image descriptions in Markup - Markup now lets you add image descriptions that can be read by VoiceOver. Image descriptions persist even when shared and can be read in a range of supported apps on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
• Sound actions for Switch Control - Sound actions for Switch Control let you control iPhone with simple mouth sounds, without the need for physical buttons, switches, or complex verbal commands.
• Background sounds - Background sounds play balanced, bright, or dark noise, ocean, rain, and stream sounds continuously in the background to mask unwanted environmental or external noise and help you focus or stay calm. The sounds mix into or duck under other audio and system sounds as you use your device.
• Per-app settings - Customize display and text size settings on an app-by-app basis.
• Import audiograms - Import paper or PDF audiograms in Settings and customize Headphone Accommodations to amplify soft sounds and adjust frequencies based on your hearing test results.
• Magnifier app - Magnifier is now a default app on iOS, so you can use your iPhone as a magnifying glass to zoom in on objects near you.
• New Voice Control languages - Voice Control adds new language options including Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, French, and German that use Siri speech recognition technology.
• New dictionaries for India - Bilingual dictionaries for India include Urdu-English, Tamil-English, Telugu-English, and Gujarati-English.
• New idiom dictionary for China mainland - A new Simplified Chinese idiom dictionary for mainland China.
• New dictionaries for Hong Kong - Dictionaries for Hong Kong include a Traditional Chinese-English idiom dictionary, a Traditional Chinese-English dictionary of Cantonese colloquialisms, and a new Traditional Chinese dictionary.

Keyboard and Dictation

• Magnification loupe for text cursor and selection - Users can select text more accurately using an improved cursor that magnifies text.
• Vietnamese VNI and VIQR keyboards - Type in Vietnamese using VNI and VIQR.
• QuickPath language expansion - New languages that support QuickPath include Dutch, Hindi (Latin), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
• New keyboard layouts - New keyboard layouts for Ainu, Amharic, Fula (Adlam), Igbo, Navajo, Rohingya, Syriac, and Tigrinya.
• Enhanced 10-key layout for Chinese Pinyin - Enhanced 10-key layout includes improvements that let users quickly switch to QWERTY, access symbols more easily, and type words that share the same keys with greater accuracy by allowing you to select the exact Pinyin for more than just the first syllable in the phrase.
• Dialect lexicon support for Cantonese and Shanghainese - Type words in Pinyin using native Cantonese or Shanghainese dialectal spellings.
• Smart Replies for new Indic languages - Smart Replies now support 10 new Indic languages, including Urdu, Bangla, Tamil, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Odiya.
• On-device dictation - On-device dictation is now available in more regions and languages, including Arabic, Cantonese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Yue Chinese.
• Continuous dictation - With on-device dictation, you can dictate text of any length without a timeout. Dictation was previously limited to 60 seconds.

Other Improvements

• Built-in authenticator - Generate verification codes needed for additional sign-in security under Passwords in Settings as an alternative for apps like Google Authenticator. Once set up, verification codes autofill when you sign in to the site.
• Software Updates - iOS now offers a choice between updating to the latest version of iOS 15 as soon as it is released for the latest features and most complete set of security updates, or continuing on iOS 14 and still getting important security updates until you are ready to upgrade to the next major version.
• Reorder Home Screen pages - Users can now personalize their Home Screen more easily by reordering pages.
• Drag and drop - Drag and drop is now supported across apps.
• Package detection - Using HomeKit Secure Video, security cameras and video doorbells can now detect and notify you when a package has arrived.
• Spatialize Audio - iOS can now take any non-Dolby stereo mix and creates a virtual spatial audio environment out of it with AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.
• Books Search redesign - Search results show as soon as you start typing and will correct spelling mistakes in the Books app. Showcases of top books, audiobooks, and genre collections will show within results. Users can also buy books directly from the Search tab.
• RealityKit 2 - Developers can apply custom shaders, add post rendering effects, and build more immersive AR experiences with RealityKit 2, which is Apple's 3D rendering, physics, and spatial audio engine built for AR.
• Inclusive language (Spanish only) - Users can now choose their term of address throughout the system: feminine, masculine, or neutral.

We've created in-depth guides that cover all of the major features in iOS 15, and each guide is outfitted with useful how tos. Make sure to check out each one to get a detailed rundown on the new features and how to use them.

• iOS 15: How to Rearrange and Delete Home Screen Pages
• iOS 15: How to Hide App Notification Badges on the Home Screen
• iOS 15: How to Use Background Sounds to Minimize Distractions and Stay Focused
• iOS 15: How to Prevent Emails From Tracking You With Mail Privacy Protection
• iOS 15: How to Drag and Drop Screenshots
• Unlock with Apple Watch Not Working? Here's How to Fix the Problem
• How to Adjust iCloud Private Relay IP Address Settings
• iOS 15: How to Turn iCloud Private Relay On and Off
• iOS 15: How to Turn Off Automatic Night Mode on iPhone
• iOS 15: How to Use Hide My Email
• iOS 15: How to Deactivate or Delete a 'Hide My Email' Private Address
• iOS 15: How to Change Where 'Hide My Email' Addresses Forward
• iOS 15: How to Create a 'Hide My Email' Private Address
• iOS 15: How to Turn on Auto-Translate in the Translate App
• How to Disable Annoying Apple TV Keyboard Notifications in iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1
• iOS 15: How to Set a Recovery Contact for Your Apple ID Account
• How to Fix Mail Notification Sounds in iOS 15
• iOS 15.1: How to Enable Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio and Apple Lossless on HomePod
• How to Use App Privacy Report in iOS 15.2
• How to AirPlay Music and Video From iPhone or iPad to Mac
• iOS 15.2 Beta: How to Use the Hide My Email Feature in the Mail App
• How to Use Apple's Legacy Contact Feature to Let Your Family Access Your Photos and Data After You Die
• How to Use Apple's Live Listen Feature With Beats Fit Pro
• How to Get a List of Directions in Apple Maps
• iOS 15: How to Edit PDF Documents in the Files App
• How to Check for COVID Exposure Notifications on iPhone
• What the Colored Bars Mean in the iPhone Weather App
• iOS 15: How to Add a Hotel Room Key to iPhone and Apple Watch
• How to Erase and Reset a Locked iPhone or iPad
• How to Customize Your iPhone's Status Bar With an Emoji

iOS 15 is compatible with all of the same iPhones as iOS 13 and iOS 14, including older devices like the original iPhone SE and iPhone 6s. iOS 15 compatible devices are listed below.

• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone SE (2020)
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone SE (2016)
• iPod touch (7th generation)

Apple released iOS 15 on September 20, 2021 .

New WebKit Features in Safari 15.5

May 16, 2022

by Jen Simmons

After the feature-packed release of Safari 15.4 two months ago, WebKit’s work for this version of Safari focused predominately on polishing existing features and fixing bugs.

Safari 15.5 does contain three new technologies for web developers — support for the inert property in HTML; support for the worker-src Content Security Policy directive; and the new minimumViewportInset and maximumViewportInset APIs for implementing new CSS Viewport Units in WKWebView-based apps.

Safari 15.5 is available for macOS Monterey 12.4, macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, iPadOS 15.5, and iOS 15.5. You can update to Safari 15.5 on macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina by going to System Preferences → Software Update → More info, and choosing to update Safari.

Developer Features

Let’s look first at the HTML inert attribute. When set on an element, the attribute makes that element non-interactive by preventing mouse and keyboard focus, clicks, edits or text selection. It also hides the element from assistive technologies. For more information about inert , including a demo showing how inert can make the partially-offscreen content in a carousel visible, but inactive, read Non-interactive Elements with the inert Attribute .

Next, let’s look at support for worker-src from Content Security Policy Level 3. The worker-src directive provides web developers a way to restrict which URLs are allowed to be sources for worker scripts (Worker, SharedWorker, or ServiceWorker). This can be used to prevent already loaded scripts from loading more scripts in the form of workers, a situation that has potential to be susceptible to malicious attack through using excessive CPU for computation. We also updated Content Security Policy console logging in Web Inspector.

And last, we’ve added the minimumViewportInset and maximumViewportInset APIs to WKWebView so app developers can add support for all of the new CSS Viewport Units to their browser or other application on iOS, iPadOS and macOS. The minimumViewportInset corresponds to the large measurement, and maximumViewportInset corresponds to the small measurement. The new CSS Viewport Units, which shipped in Safari 15.4, include small ( svw , svh , svi , svb , svmin , svmax ), large ( lvw , lvh , lvi , lvb , lvmin , lvmax ), dynamic ( dvw , dvh , dvi , dvb , dvmin , dvmax ), and logical ( vi , vb ) units.

Fixes and Polish

Now, let’s get to the list of bug fixes and feature polish.

• Fixed SVG tags behind modal dialogs to not be clickable
• Fixed the Dialog element only animating once
• Fixed rendering a USDZ loaded as the main resource
• Fixed uploading “.pages” files to file inputs accepting “.pages” and “.jpeg” files
• Prevented BroadcastChannel from communicating across distinct opaque origins
• Fixed respecting website policies during COOP-based process swap
• Fixed PointerEvent.movementX always 0
• Fixed resolving a fetch promise when a page enters page cache
• Fixed pointer events to perform a hit test only if there is not a pointer capture target override
• Fixed computing the site for cookies when the document is created by window.open
• Fixed Element.focus({preventScroll: true}) to correctly prevent scrolling on iOS
• Fixed scrolling background-attachement: fixed
• Fixed background-clip: text to work with display: flex
• Fixed rendering for many position: sticky elements
• Fixed position: sticky elements moving incorrectly while scrolling
• Fixed text contents in <span> with opacity not updating when a sibling element has will-change: transform
• Fixed :focus-visible matching on the wrong element when focused via script
• Fixed text-shadow getting clipped
• Fixed behavior of a position: sticky element within contain: paint
• Fixed aspect-ratio with percentage widths
• Fixed returning the default computed style for elements without the transition or animation shorthands

Authentication

• Aligned WebAuthn implementation to match specifications to use the default pubKeyCredParams list if the list in makeCredential is empty

Content Security Policy

• Fixed blocking image content in object elements
• Fixed sending violation reports to the document for a detached element
• Improved nonce hiding from the DOM
• Updated Content Security Policy handling of JavaScript URLs
• Fixed key rotation for single key audio in modern EME paired with a native HLS player
• Fixed disabled Control Center spatial control when playing a video in Safari
• Fixed loading a model in QuickLook when passing extra parameters
• Fixed muted video that sometimes becomes paused when taken to fullscreen
• Fixed video playback on iPhone 7
• Fixed video playback for HEVC content encodings that generate many b-frames with a wide sliding window
• Fixed HLS stream currentTime sometimes jumping backwards
• Fixed clicking on the progress bar often pausing a YouTube video
• Fixed blob videos slowing to pause
• Fixed audio echo after the camera us paused or unpaused
• Fixed playback of HTML5 embedded audio with unbounded range requests
• Fixed the video poster disappearing prematurely on play, leaving a transparent video element
• Fixed incorrect label returned by getUserMedia regardless of language selected
• Reduced perceived audio latency
• Fixed text wrapping for windows that exceed a certain width
• Fixed a Korean webfont rendering issue
• Fixed an issue where a transform change sometimes resulted in bad rendering
• Fixed a flash of missing text content with transform-related animations
• Changed to use colgroup for table sizing when it comes after thead , tbody , tfoot , or tr elements
• Fixed two bopomofo tone marks to move to the correct place in vertical text with a particular bopomofo font
• Fixed the Apple Pay Sheet to return billingContact on iOS
• Fixed WebGL rendering when using preserveDrawingBuffer on iOS
• Fixed a number of issues related to multisampling that were breaking a lot of WebGL content
• Fixed handling TypedArray with AllowShared to be accepted
• Fixed WEBGL_multi_draw validation

Web Inspector

• Fixed large message handling from remote devices
• Fixed repeated opening and closing

Compatibility

• Fixed launching Microsoft Teams from Safari

SFSafariViewController

• Fixed a noticeable delay in playback when rotating a full screen YouTube video

Safari Extensions

• Fixed a crash clicking on Safari App Extension toolbar items
• Fixed an issue where SFContentBlockerManager.getStateOfContentBlocker() could return an incorrect value on iOS
• Added support for optional_host_permissions for Safari Web Extensions

We love hearing from you. Send a tweet to @webkit , @jensimmons or @jonathandavis to share your thoughts on this release. If you run into any issues, we welcome your feedback on the Safari UI or your WebKit bug report about web technology. Filing issues really does make a difference.

Download the latest Safari Technology Preview to stay at the forefront of the web platform and to use the latest Web Inspector features. You can also use the WebKit Feature Status page to watch for new information about the web features that interest you the most.

For more information on what’s in WebKit for Safari 15.5, read the Safari 15.5 release notes .

These features were first released in Safari Technology Preview: 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , and 145 .

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How do I find the latest safari version

Hi, how do you find the lastest version of safari and install it on my phone? Please help

iPhone SE, iOS 15

Posted on Jun 1, 2022 6:23 AM

Posted on Jun 1, 2022 6:28 AM

I'm not sure what you're asking Safari is an integral part of iOS, it's updated when iOS is updated, it's not available for standalone download. The latest version of iOS is 15.5 - if your iPhone is running iOS 15.5, then you have the latest version of Safari.

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Apple A-Z » Apple Software

Social features and day-to-day tasks are the focus of iOS 15. Apple's updates to FaceTime, iMessage, and a new version of do not disturb called Focus show a commitment to getting users more interactive within these apps. There are also a multitude of changes across the OS in how information is presented or discovered.

● FaceTime updated with new sharing features ● iMessage photo sharing improved ● Focus controls notifications ● Maps, Safari, Wallet changes ● Live Photo text lookup ● Face ID with mask support ● iCloud+

Page last updated: 1 week ago

Get Apple News Directly in Your Inbox

Apple held its annual WWDC conference in June 2021 and announced the usual operating system updates. Among those updates was iOS 15, with a big focus on social features and productivity.

It seems many of the updates were a direct result of a year in lockdown. Sharing music, movies, and photos among friends and family are much easier, and now FaceTime feels a little more like a productivity and social tool than a standard videophone.

Apple finally ended the beta cycle for iOS 15 on September 20 with a few features removed from the public release. SharePlay was released with iOS 15.1.

iOS 16 was revealed in 2022 and continued to emphasize social features and customization. That theme continued for iOS 17 , which was released in 2023.

iOS 15 Features

Apple didn't introduce many new features but rather took existing features and gave them a fresh coat of paint. By taking existing systems and improving their awareness and connectivity, iOS 15 seeks to make every interaction feel more fluid.

• Social updates

Apple took a note from popular social apps and improved upon FaceTime, iMessage , and system-wide sharing intelligence. Not only is it easier than ever to watch a movie with friends, but you'll also be able to keep track of what your friends share with the new "shared with you" feature.

Video calling became more popular than ever during the pandemic, and Apple was left out of the conversation thanks to the aging FaceTime platform. Now the company hopes to capture some of the hype with some modern features.

Users can share their iPhone screen on a call for the first time. This will enable users to show off an app or feature or even help someone troubleshoot an issue.

There is a new grid view within FaceTime, mimicking the look of popular apps like Zoom, but Apple has added a twist by adding Spatial Audio to the call. Now, sound will emanate from the direction of the speaker on screen.

Augmented reality filters bring some control and privacy to a call. Portrait mode brings the speaker into focus and makes the background disappear in a bokeh-like blur. Mic modes enable algorithms to pick up speaking audios and focus on that rather than the dishwasher running in the background.

One of the most important features to come to FaceTime is links. For the first time, Android and Windows users will be able to participate in FaceTime calls via the web. Generate a link, share it, and schedule a call.

Apple announced a new feature connected to FaceTime called SharePlay — a new take on AirPlay that brings media into calls. SharePlay lets users watch a movie together, listen to music, or later view third-party apps like TikTok.

While in a SharePlay call, you'll be able to AirPlay video to your Apple TV. That means you can watch time-synced video with your friends on a call seamlessly across your devices.

SharePlay was released with iOS 15.1 in October 2021, alongside the macOS Monterey release.

Sharing photos in iMessage is now a much better experience. If you share several photos at once, it will be presented as a stack that recipients can select to view and Tapback each image.

When users share Apple News articles, Apple Music songs, or Apple TV+ shows, they will populate a new area in each respective app. This "Shared With You" feature collects everything recently shared within the app in question, so you don't have to hunt it down in iMessage.

In case you do want to find media or photos later in iMessage, users can now pin objects in a conversation for easy discovery. Also, Apple has added a new save image button next to shared images in a conversation.

• Focus and Notifications

Apple has made it easier than ever to control your device and the information it gives you in a given moment. The new feature is called "Focus," and it expands Do Not Disturb into a scheduled system-wide control for getting things done.

Rather than have a single toggle that shuts down notifications for a set time period, Focus lets users create new definitions of how their iPhone, iPad , or Mac shows them information. Focus can be set for scenarios like work, personal, driving, or more.

Users can customize each Focus by designating apps and people that can break through the notification block. While working, you might allow coworkers to give you iMessage notifications or let family message you during personal time.

Customization goes even further with App Library and Home Screen selection. Now that users can remove all apps from the Home Screen and design it using widgets and custom Shortcuts, each Home Screen can be tailored for a focus. This means you can have a Home Screen that only shows up during work hours or a Home Screen with minimal apps for bedtime.

Focus also acts as a status for iMessage. When a focus is set that may block someone's notification, they will be alerted of your status and have the chance to break through the block in an emergency.

Focus can be triggered manually or via a schedule. It has replaced the Do Not Disturb menu in the Control Center.

Apple App Updates

Apple's operating system updates also include changes to how its pre-installed apps work. These apps gain functionality thanks to changes in APIs or new technologies but sometimes get redesigns that change how users interact with them.

The default web browser on iOS has received an overhaul for modern design. Safari on iPhone is now better suited for single-handed navigation with the navbar at the bottom of the screen.

Apple slowly altered the new Safari design with each new iOS 15 beta. The final design has been pulled back to something a little more simplified, though the bottom-bar remains. Users can toggle between the top and bottom bar design paradigms via a toggle in Settings.

The Start Screen can now be customized like its macOS equivalent. Users can designate what information is shown here and add a wallpaper from the Photos app.

Custom extensions are coming to iOS, where previously Apple only had content blocking. This means apps like 1Password and Grammarly will have more integration and control within the browser like on desktop.

Some famous locations in Apple Maps will be rendered with special 3D art that interacts with day and night mode. Locations with more detailed landscapes will become available in some cities like New York and San Fransisco.

Detailed imagery with elevation, trees, and lanes are included in some cities. These design changes create an almost video game-like view of the map as you navigate an area. Apple has taken the time to animate specific complex intersections with overlapping highways in the artwork.

Apple has also included an augmented reality feature that shows arrows for where users should go in a three-dimensional space. A combination of LiDar scanning, geolocation, and the camera will get a precise location for the feature to work.

Apple has added a few items that can be included in Apple Wallet. States in the US that adopt the feature can allow users to scan their driver's license into their iPhone. The only feature Apple shared for digital ID is scanning it at an airport terminal.

Users will be able to add their HomeKit keys to the Wallet as well. This will simplify accessing a home with biometric authentication and a tap rather than fumbling with an app or HomeKit .

Car Key is being improved with Ultra Wideband support coming to the feature for select vehicles. Soon users will be able to unlock their car and start it using proximity authentication alone.

• Live Text in Photos

On-device intelligence will be able to grab text from the camera viewfinder or from saved photos. Users will then be able to select text to translate or copy out of a photo for use elsewhere. Formatting in an image is preserved when it is detected, like bullets in a list.

Phone numbers and name data are also exposed by the algorithm. This means users can scan a business card or sign to expose a phone number or contact information that can be saved to the Contacts app.

The improved intelligence extends outside of text too. The photos app and camera will be able to detect objects in the image, such as animals or plants, and link users to more information on the web.

Spotlight has more rich results for people, media, and apps. Users can access Spotlight from the lock screen as well.

Rather than see a link to Wikipedia, users will be shown detailed information about famous people when it is available. The data is surfaced from popular websites and links users to those places for more information.

Users will also be able to search for live text found in photos or a specific location in a photo.

iOS 15 updates

Updates were minor in iOS 15.5, but noticeable in some places. Users can now send money directly from the Apple Cash card within the Wallet app, and Apple has rebranded "Apple Pay Cash" to "Apple Cash" throughout the system.

The Home app has a new "Critical Alerts" option in Settings that is on by default. It lets devices like smart fire alarms alert your phone even when in Do Not Disturb mode or other Focus modes.

The Photos app Memories feature will no longer create a memory based on sensitive locations. These locations include areas around the world like the Holocaust Museum.

Apple introduced a new version of Face ID that allows users to authenticate themselves while wearing masks. It uses facial features surrounding the person's eyes to determine identity while the nose and mouth are covered.

New anti-stalking features for AirTag are also included with iOS 15.4. Users will now be warned when pairing an AirTag that devices used for illegal activity can be traced back to the original owner's Apple ID.

iOS 15.3 focused on bug fixes and performance improvements. There are no notable user-facing features in this release.

iOS 15.2 was released in December 2021 with Legacy Contacts, improved privacy reports, and child safety in iMessage. It also has a new toggle for Macro mode in e camera app.

Apple introduced iOS 15.1 in October 2021 with SharePlay, ProRes video recording, and bug fixes. Another anticipated feature was the ability to add COVID-19 vaccination cards to the Apple Wallet app.

iOS 15 Compatibility

iOS 15 can be downloaded on the following devices:

• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2020)
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone SE (First Generation)
• 1. iOS 15 Features
• 2. Apple App Updates
• 3. iOS 15 updates
• 4. Compatibility

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Epic vs. Apple lurches on, this time about antisteering compliance

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How To : 15 Important Features and Changes in the iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 Updates

Apple's latest iPhone and iPad software, iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, became available on May 16, so you can download and install it right now if you haven't already. While there aren't as many new features as iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 had, there are a few big ones in the U.S. you'll want to know beyond Apple's minuscule "About this Update" information in the "Software Update" menu.

The software began beta testing on April 5, just 22 days after Apple released iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 to the general public. While developers got first dibs on the betas, testers who joined the Apple Beta Software Program received them the very next day. Apple spent 41 days testing things out before releasing the stable software updates to everyone.

WWDC will be unleashing the iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 betas to developers on June 6, and iOS and iPadOS 15 updates will teeter out as Apple and developers concentrate on the three-month development cycle of the next major iPhone and iPad software. Still, we may see iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6 before then, especially since one feature mentioned below may be coming sooner than later.

• Don't Miss: 11 Hidden iOS Features You Won't Find in Any Apple Docs

1. Send/Request Buttons for Apple Cash

The Apple Cash card is a great way to pay at stores that accept Apple Pay. You can deposit money from your bank account, receive funds from other Apple Cash users, and pile up Daily Cash from your Apple Card. To request money from or pay other Apple Cash users, you always had to do so from the Messages app.

In the iOS 15.5 update, there are now two big buttons in the Wallet app itself to "Request" and "Send" Apple Cash. Tap on your Apple Cash card in your Apple Wallet, and you'll see them right away. Hit one, add a recipient, pick the amount, and send the message. You still have to send requests and cash using Messages, but you don't have to do it directly from Messages anymore.

2. Apple Pay Is Now Apple Cash in Messages

In the app drawer directly below the text input field in Messages conversations, you'll find the Apple Pay app, which lets you send and receive money. In iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, that button is rebranded as Apple Cash, which makes sense with the added "Send" and "Request" buttons for the Apple Cash card in Wallet on iPhone.

3. Apple Account Card in Wallet

Another change to the Wallet app revitalizes an older feature that was available in the U.S. but only exists in other countries at the moment.

The iTunes Pass was a card you could add to Wallet from the iTunes Store. You could use it to buy content from the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple TV, Apple Books, and subscriptions services like Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and iCloud+. You could even use it to pay for things on Apple's website or Apple Store app. You could deposit money into the iTunes Pass directly or load some from a gift card.

In the U.S., it's currently called the Apple ID balance, and there is no card to add to Wallet. However, it may be coming back as a new Apple Account card. While it's not 100% certain, the code in iOS 15.5 hints at it according to 9to5Mac: "Your account balance can be used to buy products, accessories, apps, games and more online or in store with Apple Pay."

4. Sensitive Locations Omitted from Memories

Apple Photos now blocks specific sensitive locations from appearing in Memories, namely Holocaust-related museums, memorials, concentration camps, and extermination camps. Most of these locations are in Poland, but others are in Germany, Amsterdam, Israel, and the U.S.

• Anne Frank House (museum in Amsterdam)
• Auschwitz II-Birkenau (concentration camp in Brzezinka, Poland)
• Belzec (extermination camp in Szalenik-Koloni, Belzec, Poland)
• Chelmno aka Kulmhof (extermination camp in Budy Przybylowskie, Poland, near Chelmno nad Nerem)
• Dachau (concentration camp in Dachau, Germany, near Munich)
• Holocaust Memorial (memorial in Berlin, Germany)
• Majdanek aka Lublin (concentration camp in Lublin, Poland)
• Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory (museum in Kraków, Poland)
• Sobibor (extermination camp in Zlobek, Wlodawa County, Poland)
• Treblinka II (extermination camp in Wólka Okraglik, Poland, near Kosów Lacki)
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (memorial in Washington, DC)
• Yad Vashem (memorial in Jerusalem, Israel)

5. Customizable Storage Limits for Podcasts

In both iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, there is a new setting for the Podcasts app that helps limit the amount of local storage downloaded episodes take up on your device. Go to Settings –> Podcasts –> Automatically Downloaded to adjust your preferences. This menu replaces the "Enable When Following" toggle switch from earlier software versions.

You can choose to download and keep 1, 2, 3, 5, or 10 of the last episodes per show, or pick between the last 1, 7, 14, or 30 days. Keeping all episodes is also an option, as well as none at all. Apple's fine print includes a few important notes:

• "This default setting will not affect shows with customized settings."
• "Episodes you saved or manually downloaded will not be removed."

6. A Few Minor Updates to Weather

There are a few minor updates in the Weather app. First, the city name, temperature, and current weather condition at the top of each location page will remain visible as you scroll down. Before, it would disappear, and you'd have to scroll back up or look at other clues on the page to remember what city you were viewing.

Second, the "Report an Issue" link is more prominent at the bottom of the current location's weather page. Now, instead of a simple three-word line of text, it gets its own box with a description saying, "You can describe the current conditions at your location to help improve forecasts." You now tap "See More" in the box to report an issue.

7. Reader Apps Will Be Able to Avoid IAPs

On an iPhone and iPad, a "reader" app provides one or more types of digital content as its primary purpose. Specifically, that content would be audio, books, magazines, music, news, and video. Prime examples of these include Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and Spotify.

In iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, reader app developers can now include a link to an external webpage from their signup and account management screens to avoid Apple's in-app purchase (IAP) system.

Apple announced the change to the App Store Review guidelines on March 30, 2022, and the 15.5 updates allow developers to implement those changes with the new External Link Account Entitlement . However, according to Apple, "apps that offer in-app purchases on iOS or iPadOS are not eligible for the entitlement."

8. Various Security Updates

As always, Apple pushed out a slew of security updates for its new software. There are 27 security issues addressed in iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, some of which you could be aware of. The basic info is below, but you can find all the technical details on Apple's security updates page.

• AppleAVD: A use after free issue fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• AppleGraphicsControl: A memory corruption fix prevents the processing of maliciously crafted images that could have led to arbitrary code execution.
• AVEVideoEncoder: An out-of-bounds write issue fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• DriverKit: An out-of-bounds access fix prevents malicious apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges.
• GPU Drivers: A memory corruption fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• ImageIO: An integer overflow fix prevents remote attackers from being able to cause unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.
• IOKit: A race condition fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• IOMobileFrameBuffer: A memory corruption fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• IOSurfaceAccelerator: A memory corruption fix prevents malicious apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• Kernel: A memory corruption fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• Kernel: A use after free issue fix prevents apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
• Kernel: A memory corruption fix prevents attackers that had already achieved kernel code execution from being able to bypass kernel memory mitigations.
• Kernel: A race condition fix prevents malicious attackers with arbitrary read and write capability from being able to bypass Pointer Authentication.
• LaunchServices: An access issue fix prevents sandboxed processes from being able to circumvent sandbox restrictions.
• libxml2: A use after free issue fix prevents remote attackers from being able to cause unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.
• Notes: A fix prevents processing large inputs from leading to a denial of service.
• Safari Private Browsing: A logic issue fix prevents malicious websites from being able to track users in Safari private browsing mode.
• Security: A certificate parsing fix prevents malicious apps from being able to bypass signature validation.
• Shortcuts: An authorization issue fix prevents people with physical access to an iOS device from being able to access photos from the lock screen.
• WebKit: A memory corruption fix prevents processing maliciously crafted web content from leading to code execution.
• WebKit: A use after free issue fix prevents processing maliciously crafted web content from leading to arbitrary code execution.
• WebKit: A memory corruption fix prevents processing maliciously crafted web content from leading to arbitrary code execution.
• WebRTC: A logic issue in the handling of concurrent media fix prevents video self-preview in webRTC calls from being interrupted if the user answers a phone call.
• Wi-Fi: A memory corruption fix prevents malicious apps from being able to disclose restricted memory.
• Wi-Fi: A memory corruption fix prevents malicious apps from being able to elevate privileges.
• Wi-Fi: A fix prevents remote attackers from being able to cause a denial of service.
• Wi-Fi: A memory corruption fix prevents malicious apps from being able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges.

9. The Apple Classical App Is Coming Soon

It didn't happen in the iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 stables, but the code still suggests that the Apple Classical service may be near, and it'll have a dedicated app.

The app will be a companion to Apple Music, but just for classical music, based on the Primephonic service Apple purchased in 2021. Apple Classical will "[combine] Primephonic's classical user interface that fans have grown to love with more added features," such as Apple Music's lossless audio and spatial audio with Dolby Atmos.

While there is no Apple Classical app in the software packages, there are references such as "Open in Apple Classical," "A Shortcut to Apple Classical," and "Open this in the new app designed for classical music" in an Apple Music resource file. Maybe we'll see the app in a 15.6 update?

Other Important Updates

• Universal Control in macOS Monterey 12.4 is not compatible with macOS Monterey 12.3 or older or iPadOS 15.4.1 or older. You need to update your iPad to iPadOS 15.5 to use Universal Control on macOS Monterey 12.4.
• The physical Apple Card in the Wallet app is now called the Titanium Card.
• Apple patched an issue causing automations triggered by arrivals or departures to fail.
• Wi-Fi signal bars appear in the Home app when a HomePod is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
• SportsKit includes real-time strike, ball, and pitch counts for "Friday Night Baseball" on AppleTV+, as well as jump buttons to start the stream over or go live.
• Apple enabled an Apple Music API for playback speed it previously removed in iOS 15.4, which developers can now incorporate into their apps again so users can slow down or speed up Apple Music songs.

Just updated your iPhone? You'll find new emoji, enhanced security, podcast transcripts, Apple Cash virtual numbers, and other useful features. There are even new additions hidden within Safari. Find out what's new and changed on your iPhone with the iOS 17.4 update.

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Apple security releases

This document lists security updates and Rapid Security Responses for Apple software.

About Apple security releases

For the protection of our customers, Apple doesn't disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until an investigation has occurred and patches or releases are generally available. This document lists recent releases, including security updates and Rapid Security Responses .

If you need technical support for a security issue—for example, to reset your Apple ID password or to review a recent App Store charge—view the  Get help with security issues  article. 

If you believe that you've discovered a security or privacy vulnerability in an Apple product, learn how to submit your research .

Get the latest software updates from Apple

Keeping your software up to date is one of the most important things you can do to maintain your Apple product's security.

• The latest version of iOS and iPadOS is 17.4.1. Learn how to  update the software on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch .
• The latest version of macOS is 14.4.1. Learn how to  update the software on your Mac  and how to allow important  background updates .
• The latest version of tvOS is 17.4. Learn how to  update the software on your Apple TV .
• The latest version of watchOS is 10.4. Learn how to  update the software on your Apple Watch .
• The latest version of visionOS is 1.1.2. Learn how to update the software on your Apple Vision Pro .

Note that after a software update is installed for iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS, it cannot be downgraded to the previous version.

Apple security updates and Rapid Security Responses

For information about earlier security updates, see these documents:

• Apple security updates (2018 to 2019)
• Apple security updates (2016 to 2017)
• Apple security updates (2015)
• Apple security updates (2014)
• Apple security updates (2013)
• Apple security updates (2011 to 2012)
• Apple security updates (2010)
• Apple security updates (15 Jan 2008 to 03 Dec 2009)
• Apple security updates (25 Jan 2005 to 21 Dec 2007)
• Apple security updates (03 Oct 2003 to 11 Jan 2005)
• Apple security updates (August 2003 and earlier)

Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information.

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