iOS 14.5 is out now: Here’s everything you need to know
Apple has officially released iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 for iPhone and iPad, bringing several new features and improvements including, new emoji characters, Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch, AirPlay 2 support for Apple Fitness+, App Tracking Transparency, updates to the Music app, lyrics sharing, and more.
iOS 14.5 also brings support for AirTag, Apple’s new Find My item tracker which will release officially this Friday.
iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 are both available now as an over-the-air update via the Settings app, with a future update next month adding the new Apple Card Family sharing features and Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, shown off last week at Apple’s “Spring Loaded” special event.
Here’s what’s new with iOS 14.5
Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch
Particularly useful for the world we live in right now, iOS 14.5 adds a new “Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch” feature.
When a user is wearing a face mask, the iPhone will perform a Face ID scan as normal, but it will be able to detect whether or not a face covering is being worn. If so, the iPhone will verify as much of the user’s face as possible with the face mask on, then unlock the device based on if the user is wearing an Apple Watch which has been unlocked by a passcode.
When the iPhone has been unlocked using the new “Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch” feature, the user will receive a notification alerting them of the recent activity, with the option to then lock the device from their wrist.
AirPlay 2 for Apple Fitness+
iOS 14.5 allows users to AirPlay their AppleFitness+ workouts from their device to an AirPlay 2-enabled TV or set-top box.
It came as a surprise when the subscription service launched in December that it didn’t support AirPlay, with users questioning why Apple’s own service didn’t support the ability to beam video workouts up onto other devices. iOS 14.5 fixes this.
New Emoji
Part of the release is 217 new emoji, including a mix of skin tones for couples, gender options for emoji with beards, a heart on fire, an updated syringe, and more.
iOS 14.5 has a mix of new and updated emoji characters. With the release, Apple has changed its syringe to go from showing a syringe with blood to a syringe with a clear medicine.
The update also sees Apple swap its old Headphone emoji to look more like AirPods Max, which launched in December.
Lyric Sharing in Music
iOS 14.5 adds new lyric sharing features to Apple Music, which allow users to share lines of lyrics and audio clips in Messages, as well as the ability to post lyrics to Facebook and Instagram Stories.
The update allows users to long-press individual lines of real-time lyrics when playing to share them in Messages through new iMessage cards, or multiple lines to be posted in social media stories.
When lyrics are shared in Messages an Apple Music card appears in the chat window, which lets the recipient tap on the card to play the specific part of the song that was shared via iMessage.
Additional improvements include the controversial new App Tracking Transparency alerts, PS5/Xbox Series X controller support and new Siri voices.