Apple Releases iOS 13.5 Including COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, Face ID & FaceTime Updates «iOS & iPhone :: Gadget Hacks

Apple has just released iOS 13.5, the latest update for iPhones, today, Wednesday, May 20. This update comes just two days after the company vaccinated beta testers 13.5 GM (golden master). While only available to beta testers, the GM is essentially the same software as today's update.

Apple released iOS 13.5 at 10:00 AM PDT. This is the company's usual software update release time, so it's no surprise that Apple continues the tradition. This new update has gone through four developer beta updates and three public beta updates, so we hope all major bugs and stability issues are resolved.

So, what does iOS 1

3.5 bring to the table? First of all, Apple seems to want this update to address the issues we face on a daily basis: the coronavirus pandemic. For starters, you'll find Apple and Google's COVID-19 exposure notification API in this update, which turns your iPhone into a contact tracking tool should you sign up for it. This feature is currently offline, as no developers have yet added functionality to their apps.

The pandemic has also changed the way we leave our homes. Now we wear masks when going out in public which, while good for health, is bad for unlocking iPhones with Face ID. This new update makes it easier to unlock your iPhone as iOS opens the password screen immediately after a failed Face ID scan. Previously, you had to wait another second or two for this screen to appear.

While FaceTime was popular well before 2020, recent events have forced us to communicate via video much more often. As such, Group FaceTime has never been more essential. That said, as more and more of us used the feature, we've noticed that Group FaceTime's trick of automatically resizing and tiling based on who's talking can be distracting. Therefore, iOS 13.5 offers you an option to disable the feature.

That's just a taste of the new features and changes iOS 13.5 adds to your iPhone. As always, this update is completely free and available for any iPhone compatible with iOS 13. To download the update, go to Settings -> General -> Software Update and follow the onscreen instructions to install iOS 13.5 download and install.

Don't miss: All the new features and changes in iOS 13.5 for iPhone