Apple indicated that iOS 14.5 would be coming this week in the press release for its finally announced AirTags. The company didn't make us wait, as iOS 14.5 has started rolling out to devices.
Here's a look at how to download iOS 14.5 to your iPhone right now and some of the updated features you can look forward to checking out.
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How to download iOS 14.5
If you have your Automatic Updates turned on, then this would take care of itself eventually. If you haven't turned that on or you are simply impatient, then here's how to trigger the update immediately.
- Open Settings
- Tap on General
- Select Software Update
- You'll be prompted to enter your passcode and the install will complete itself.
The best new features of iOS 14.5
iOS 14.5 doesn't pack the kind of significant changes we expect to see from iOS 15 when we get our first peek at WWDC 2021 starting on June 7. However, there are a few major updates that will be of interest to many users.
For Apple Watch owners, the biggest impact on your day-to-day usage could be the ability to use your Apple Watch to unlock your iPhone rather than having to rely on Face ID every time. While Face ID remains perhaps the most reliable and certainly the most secure facial identification system on a phone, the need to wear masks in public has presented an issue for iPhone owners.
Privacy gets a nice boost as well with iOS 14.5 with apps now required to ask your permission to access your advertising ID. This is the primary method that is used to track your activity across different apps and websites and has caused a considerable stir with some app makers, most notably Facebook.
Apple Maps is getting some useful new features as well with crowdsourced data for traffic and speed traps. It's similar to what the Waze app has done for years and was later integrated into Google Maps.
iPhone 11 owners will specifically be interested in checking out the battery recalibration feature in OS 14.5 that may mean a free battery for some users.
There are a host of other new features in iOS 14.5 including the updated Find My app, the ability to make Siri use your preferred apps for some functions and support for Xbox Series X|S and PS5 controller support to name a few. We'll be taking a deeper dive on some of the new iOS 14.5 features now that it is generally available, but in the meantime, you can download it and take it for a spin yourself.
