Apple has released the new iOS 14.5 software update for the iPhone and iPod touch, as well as iPadOS 14.5 for the iPad, and tvOS 14.5 for the Apple TV.
Apple's mid-cycle software updates are usually about maintenance and bug fixes, with a little feature improvement here or there, but iOS 14.5 is a different beast. These new updates bring many of the features that didn't make the cut for the initial 14.0 releases.
So without further ado, here are the key features to look for in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5.
iOS 14.5 Lets You Unlock Your iPhone While Wearing a Face Mask
First and foremost, iOS 14.5 allows you to unlock your iPhone with Face ID while wearing a face mask, with a little help from your Apple Watch. Using Face ID during the COVID-19 pandemic has proved challenging and this new feature fixes that.
However, you must own an Apple Watch to use this tremendously useful new feature.
Other improvements that didn’t make it into the initial iOS 14.0 release but are now available with iOS 14.5 include new emoji such as vaccine and AirPods Max, an iPhone battery recalibration tool, tighter security, tweaks in the Music app, support for Apple Card Family, new Siri voices and support for 5G in Dual-SIM mode on the iPhone 12 models.
If you're an Apple Fitness+ subscriber, iOS 14.5 finally lets you use Apple's AirPlay 2 device-to-device feature to stream a workout to a compatible television that has AirPlay built-in.
iOS 14.5: App Tracking Transparency
App Tracking Transparency is another major new feature in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5.
Instead of letting apps tracking you without permission, apps will now have to use Apple's new system prompt to seek your permission before tracking you across other apps and websites. Similar to location prompts on your iPhone, this new prompt appears on a per-app basis, but there's also a global switch in Settings to disallow all tracking by default.
Other New iPhone/iPad Features in iOS 14.5
On top of that, the Apple Podcasts app has been overhauled as Apple prepares to introduce podcast subscriptions. In Maps, you now get Waze-like crowdsourcing features for incident reporting. In the Find My app, you can now locate the PowerBeats Pro headphones underneath the Items tab and verify that you're not being tracked via AirTags.
iPadOS 14.5 expands support for the Apple Pencil feature Scribble to additional languages: French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Portuguese. Apple Pencil users can now write text into fields to have it automatically transformed into typed text.
Lastly, the iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5 updates expand support for Sony and Microsoft controllers to the latest models shipping with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Changelogs for Apple OS Updates
Apple provides detailed changelogs for OS updates on its website:
tvOS 14.5 is mostly a maintenance release with no major user-facing features.
How to Update to iOS 14.5
To install iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 over the air on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, head to the Settings app, then choose General > Software Update from the root list. If a message says that an update is available, hit Download and Install to do just that.
Your iOS/iPadOS device must be plugged into power and connect to the internet with Wi-Fi.
To set your Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD to automatically install new tvOS updates when they're available, venture into Settings > System > Software Updates and toggle on the switch next to the option labeled Automatically Update.
To turn on automatic updates for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Customize Automatic Updates, then turn on the option labeled "Install iOS Updates". Doing so will prompt your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to automatically update to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS overnight while it's charging.