iOS 15.5 is now available, and based on the nature of the changes in this update, Apple is ready to move to iOS 16.
The new update, which is widely available to the public after the beta testing period, mostly features under-the-hood changes, with minimal user-facing improvements. This is far from the previous one iOS 15 The updates, which heralded a host of new features. The latest big Apple phone software update, iOS 15.4Added the ability to use Face ID when wearing a mask as well as a new voice for Siri, for example.
However, iOS 15.5 promises some notable changes. Here is an overview of what the update offers.
Podcast listeners who find themselves short on storage space for their iPhone will welcome the update to Apple’s built-in Podcasts app for iOS 15.5. Now you can select how many episodes of each show you want to keep on your iPhone at any time. As part of the update, the old episode will be automatically deleted from your phone.
Prior to iOS 15.5, podcast episodes could accumulate on your device, eroding the storage space on your device. This is especially cumbersome if you buy the iPhone again before Apple hit the storage minimum to 128GB. Now, you can use a new setting to make sure only recent episodes stay on your device.
The new control is hard to find because it’s in the Settings app. Go to Settings and scroll down to Podcasts. After selecting Podcasts, tap on the Download automatically option. The feature is turned off by default, but you can select to be able to download it anywhere from the last episode to the last 10 episodes. You can also limit downloads by time or just have the Podcasts app download all new episodes.
Setting a limit on the number of episodes you keep can result in a dividend immediately. I set Podcasts to download only the latest three episodes, and I ended up scanning 56 episodes from my device.
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, frankly better). But using it in the Wallet app has been so difficult, I often find myself turning to messages when it’s time to pay someone for dinner or tickets.
In iOS 15.5, it’s much easier to request or send cash with Apple Pay Cash from within the Wallet app, as Apple has added buttons called Request and Send. Tap on either of them and you will be prompted to choose the sender/recipient; From there you can enter an amount.
Other iOS 15.5 Changes
Other changes reported in iOS 15.5 are somewhat minor or they just sort things out. The main ones are not aimed at users, but rather app makers who want to offer subscriptions outside the App Store. iOS 15.5 adds a way for these app makers to add external website links Where users can create or manage subscriptions. This feature targets magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music and video services, and appears to be a way to take any regulatory pressure off Apple and its closed ecosystem.
Other iOS 15.5 additions include:
- The list of sensitive sites is now part of the Photos app to keep visits to places like Holocaust memorials out of the app’s automatically generated memories slideshows.
- The Home app adds Wi-Fi signal bars to show your HomePod connection.
- For iPadOS 15.5, Universal Control is now officially out of beta. This is the feature that allows you to use input devices across your iPad and Mac.
A code that was spotted during the iOS 15.5 beta process has been referred to Apple Classical, a rumored streaming app geared toward classic music. However, you won’t find the app in iOS 15.5, which means Apple could lay the groundwork for a new addition to iOS 16.
iOS 15.5 arrives three weeks before the release Apple WWDC 2022 event in June. At this event, we expect to see a preview of iOS 16, as Apple shifts development efforts toward the next major update to its iPhone software. This does not mean that Apple will not update iOS 15 from now on – in fact, after publishing this article, Apple released a beta version of iOS 15.6 to developers and participants in the beta program. It is likely that future iOS 15 updates will be geared more towards bug fixes and security patches. For example, the initial beta build of iOS 15.6 does not have release notes detailing the new capabilities, indicating that this is a maintenance release.
How to get iOS 15.5
Assuming you’re not part of the iOS public beta and you already have the software update on your phone, downloading iOS 15.5 is just a matter of going into Settings, tapping on General, and choosing Software Update. The new version should be waiting for you to download it.
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