Apple has started rolling out iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 bringing new features, fixes, security updates, and tools for developers to play with.
Members of Apple subreddit were kind enough to provide the release notes on Pastebin to those who haven’t received the update yet.
New iOS 15.5 The update will allow Apple Cash users to send or request money through the Wallet app, a new Podcasts feature that limits the number of episodes stored on an iPhone, then automatically deletes old ones, and a bug fix for automations on the Home app.
these automations could be assigned to turn off the lights when you leave your house for example, but apparently there was a reliability issue where they wouldn’t activate. And for the Cash update, you will see two new buttons labeled “Request” and “Send” for the new money transfer feature. iPadOS 15.5 sees a much smaller update as it only gets the podcast changes.
iOS 15.5 was first released in beta in April 2022 and it seems features are missing. Hidden in the beta code were hints of a new SportsKit feature for streaming baseball games, Apple Classical which is a streaming service for classical music, and an App Store gift code feature called iTunes Pass. .
It’s unclear when these features will launch, but Apple’s WWDC 2022 The event is coming soon on June 6, so chances are people will be able to see them and iOS 16 then.
Security and upcoming changes
the security patches are also quite minor. All relate to fixing holes in the code of these apps to prevent bad actors from gaining access to them. Apple has also tightened Wi-Fi security to further prevent denial of service attacks.
Regular consumers may not find the Developer sides be particularly interesting but may give an indication of future releases. One particularly interesting change is support for DualSense adaptive triggers.
DualSense controllers have a unique sensitivity to their rear triggers which is available on the PS5 and may change for iOS. Fixes can also be made to the Health app. The notes say that the app crashes when people try to use the Blood Oxygen feature.
If you want to take advantage of these changes, Apple has a set of detailed instructions how to update your iPhone or iPad.