Apple released iOS 14.5 with FaceID mask unlocking and Apple's new App Tracking Transparency feature.

The long anticipated iOS 14.5 update is finally here! Apple has just released the most important iOS 14 update, since it adds a plethora of important features, including unlocking your iPhone with your Apple Watch (even if you wear a mask), new Siri voices and App Tracking Transparency.

App Tracking Transparency

The latter is considered to be a privacy breakthrough, since Apple introduces new privacy controls in iOS 14.5 that allows users to prevent apps from tracking their online presence and behaviour while using 3rd party applications and websites. There is a new toggle built within iOS 14.5 that allows users to select if any and which apps can track them or not.

Unlock your iPhone with an Apple Watch

Unlocking your FaceID iPhone during the current global healthcare crisis while people are wearing a mask, has been a nightmare. FaceID doesn’t work when your face is covered, so you end up using your passcode extensively while outside. Apple Watch owners now have the option to use their Apple Watch in order to unlock their iPhones, a feature that works also when iPhone owners wear their mask. This feature is available to all iPhones with FaceID in combination with an Apple Watch Series 3 and later.

Find My updated to support AirTag

Find My app has been updated to support tracking of the newly announced AirTags. AirTags can be attached to your items and track them down in case you lose them through Find My App. iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 models are taking advantage of the U1 chip and use an advanced functionality which Apple calls Precision Finding. Precision Finding uses visual, audible and haptic feedback that helps you tracking easier and more accurately any lost AirTag which is attached to your item.

New Emojis

New emojis are always appreciated by iPhone users. iOS 14.5 doesn’t dissapoint since Apple introduces more than 200 new emojis (together with versions of the same emoji) including, new face emojis, heart emojis and a woman with a beard emoji. Apple also adds separate skin tones for a wide variety of couple emojis.

Apple Music

New Apple Music swipe gestures for easier quick actions that can make your life simpler. Lyrics sharing directly from Apple Music is now introduced in iOS 14.5 as you can share your favourite lyrics to your friends via Messages, Facebook or Instagram Stories.

Would you like to check which songs are more popular in Paris, New York or London? You can now explore the most popular music from 100 cities around the world. Relevant charts are updated on a daily basis.

Siri & Default Music Player

New voice options have been added to Siri which make it sound more inclusive and diverse than ever before.

iOS 14.5 adds a highly requested feature on your iPhone. When you ask Siri to play a song for the first time, Siri replies by asking you which music app should be used. Siri remembers your choice and it will use the same music app when you ask it to play a song again. Occasionally, Siri will ask you again which music app should be used and this is probably the reason why Apple denies that this feature is changing your default music app. It’s more like Siri is using a preferred music player rather than a default music app.

You can now use Siri to answer incoming calls while wearing your AirPods or compatible Beats headphones. Siri can also be used to make a Group FaceTime call or call emergency contacts starting on iOS 14.5.

Improved 5G

iPhone 12 owners will benefit from several cellular connectivity improvements such as dual SIM supporting 5G connectivity on any line that’s using mobile data on any iPhone 12. Smart Data Mode is also further optimised to balance better data usage and battery life. Furthermore, 5G international roaming is now enabled on supported network providers.

Battery recalibration

New battery health reporting system has been added by Apple intending to recalibrate your battery’s maximum capacity and peak performance on your iPhone 11 models to address innacurate estimations of battery health percentage. This process may take longer than 14 days as we have noticed from the beta versions of iOS 14.5.

Other features & Bug Fixes

Apple added several new small features. Here’s how Apple describes them on the release notes of iOS 14.5:

News

* Redesigned News+ tab enables Apple News+ subscribers to quickly find, download and manage magazine and newspaper issues

* All-new Search experience that helps you find relevant topics, channels and stories

Maps

* Estimated time of arrival (ETA) can be shared when cycling or walking, in addition to driving, by asking Siri or tapping on the route card at the bottom of the screen, then tapping Share ETA

Reminders

* Ability to sort reminders by Title, Priority, Deadline or Creation date

* Option to print your reminder lists

Translate

* Translation playback speed can be adjusted by long-pressing the play button

Gaming

* Xbox Series X|S Wireless Controller or Sony PS5 DualSense™ Wireless Controller support

Fitness+

* Ability to stream audio and video content from Apple Fitness+ workouts to AirPlay 2–enabled TVs and devices

CarPlay

* ETA in Apple Maps can be easily shared while driving with new Siri or keyboard controls in CarPlay

This release also fixes the following issues:

* Messages at the bottom of the thread may be hidden by the keyboard under certain circumstances

* Deleted messages may still appear in Spotlight search

* Messages may persistently fail to send texts in some threads

* Mail would not load new emails for some users until restarting the device

* Call blocking and identification section may not appear in Phone settings

* iCloud Tabs may not appear in Safari

* iCloud Keychain could be prevented from turning off

* Reminders created via Siri may be unintentionally set for early morning hours

* Optimisation to reduce the appearance of a dim glow that may appear at reduced brightness levels with black backgrounds on iPhone 12 models

* AirPods audio routing to incorrect device for Automatic Switching

* AirPods Automatic Switching notifications might be missing or duplicated

Which feature is your favourite?