The 5 Ways iOS 14.5 Transforms Your Phone

The 5 Ways iOS 14.5 Transforms Your Phone

We all want our phones to be as up to date as possible. We want them to do everything they’re designed to do. We want them to be the amazing tools we know they can be. But that can come at a cost: space. New updates to phone systems can stuff your smartphone to bursting point. If there’s a new update available to your system, you’re going to want to know whether it’s worth it. That’s why guides like ours are so important. We’ve combed through iOS 14.5 to find out all the nifty new secrets Apple have included. Here’s why iOS 14.5 is all-important for iPhone users like you.

1) Updated Face ID

Face ID for iPhone is both convenient and annoying. On the one hand, you can open your phone right away, without even the single movement of a hand. It keeps your phone secure, so you truly know that only you can open it. On the other hand, if your face has to stay covered by a big scarf or large hat or any other reason, you won’t be able to unlock your phone. iOS 14.5 transforms how Face ID works to fix this. From now on, if you own an Apple Watch that’s synced up with your phone, your phone will be automatically unlocked whenever your Apple Watch is. Your watch will even send you a notification whenever both devices are unlocked.

2) Your Music Player, Your Choice

If you’re a regular iPhone user, you’ll know that the default music player of these smartphones has always been Apple Music. But with this iOS update, that’s not true anymore. Now, as soon as you ask Siri to play music for the first time, it’ll provide a list of all the music apps you have installed on your device. You can then choose which app you’d prefer to be your default music player. Instead of always relying on the factory settings, if you have all your favourite playlists on Spotify, for example, you’ll be able to make them the default.

3) New Emoji

Like it or not, emoji are a key part of communicating in text and on social media in today’s world. This iOS update has responded to that need. From now on, over two hundred new emoji are now available on Apple devices. Skin tone variations have been added to a number of emoji, such as the one depicting a couple kissing. Faces with spiral eyes, faces exhaling, faces embedded in clouds and a heart set on fire are just some of the new emoji options in iOS 14.5. Meanwhile, other updates have been added to existing emoji, such as removing the appearance of blood in the syringe emoji. It’s clear that this update adds tons more options to your texting.

4) Siri Updates

The music player update isn’t the only change this system update brings to Siri. Now, Siri will no longer have a default female voice. When you turn on your phone after the update, you’ll be prompted to choose between voices for your Siri. There are different numbers of voices for different languages, but the English version offers two new voices as well as the original voice. The voices are also no longer categorized by gender. Siri is now also able to call emergency services automatically. If you say, ‘Hey, Siri, call emergency’, it will trigger a three-second countdown in which you can cancel the request. If you let it go ahead, it will automatically call 911.

5) More Transparency

Tracking of users’ information and collecting of users’ data is a growing concern among smartphone users. Many apps collect a lot of information about users’ online activity in order to show them increasingly targeted ads. This iOS update seeks to offset that worry in a number of ways. From now on, apps must directly ask users for permission before they track your data and activity. Combined with the change added in iOS 14.3, this will be highly powerful. That previous change meant that you could view exactly what data all apps collected before you downloaded them. Together, these updates will make sure that no data collection slips past your eyes. You’ll be able to make informed, careful decisions about your own technology use.

Phone system updates can be exciting times for you and your devices. They can completely shake up how you use your phone. But it’s important to know exactly what they change about your smartphone. With this simple, user-friendly road map to iOS 14.5 by your side, you’ll know all the secrets to this new update. Enjoy your phone’s new capabilities!

References:

  1. “iOS 14.5 is here. Everything we know about Apple’s new OS, available to download now”, CNet, accessed 27th April 2021, https://www.cnet.com/how-to/ios-14-5-is-here-everything-we-know-apples-new-os-available-to-download-now/.
  2. “Five things to know about Apple’s iOS update”, BBC News, accessed 27th April 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56896854.
  3. “iOS 14.5 bringing big changes to Apple’s apps — here’s what’s new”, Tom’s Guide, accessed 27th April 2021, https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ios-145-bringing-big-changes-to-apples-apps-heres-whats-new.
  4. “iOS 14.5 is out now with new Face ID mask features and Apple’s App Tracking Transparency”, The Verge, accessed 27th April 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/26/22403554/apple-ios-ipados-14-5-now-available-iphone-unlock-face-mask-app-tracking.
Electronics, Tech