Apple iOS 15.5 is officially released. Learn what’s new in this article

After several weeks of testing, Apple has finally released the official versions of iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 to all users. This is a major version update, but there are not many new features, mainly details improvements and bug fixes.

Let’s take stock of what’s included in this update.

Podcasts Podcast Updates

Apple's Podcasts app has added a setting that allows users to limit the storage capacity on their iPhone or iPad. It will also automatically delete old shows to prevent the app from taking up too much storage space. This is good news for users of 64GB iPhones.

Apple Pay Cash

In the Apple Pay Cash section of the Wallet app, there are now Request and Send buttons, making it easier to manage cash directly from Wallet.

Apple Pay in the Messages, which is the iMessage version of the payment function, has also been renamed "Apple Cash".

Home app improvements

Now with WiFi signal bars, you can see the signal status of HomePod.

General Control

In iPadOS 15.5, Universal Control is no longer in beta testing, which means that this feature has been fully released and the bugs have been resolved.

Universal Controls first appeared in iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3, allowing multiple iPads or Macs to use a single mouse/keyboard.

Apple Card

Apple now refers to the physical Apple Card as the “Titanium Card” in the Wallet app. Nothing else seems to have changed, eMMM… Might as well just call it Apple Card.

Add external payment link

“Reader apps” refers to apps that provide digital content (not just literal reading) such as magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music or video, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu and other apps as examples.

iOS 15.5 adds support for "external linked accounts", allowing such apps to support links to external websites for account creation and management purposes. This is the third-party payment channel that has been controversial for a long time.

Photo Memories

In iOS 15.5, Apple added a list of "sensitive places" to the system's built-in photo app, which will not appear in "Memories". For example, various concentration camps and Holocaust memorials.

Apple Music Playback API

iOS 15.5 reintroduces the Apple Music API development interface, allowing third-party music players to change the playback speed of songs. This API was previously available, but was removed in iOS 15.4 and returned in iOS 15.5.

Traces of classical music

In the beta, there was mention of an “Apple Classical” classical music app that Apple was developing as a supplement to the current Apple Music. But iOS 15.5 did not see it.

But there are lines in the Music app code saying "Open Apple Classical Music" and "Open this new app designed just for classical music," suggesting it will appear in the near future.

Apple acquired the classical music streaming service Primephonic in August 2021 and said it would develop a new classical music experience for Apple Music. Industry rumors have it that Apple is planning to launch a new standalone classical music app that will combine Primephonic's user interface and classical music specialization with Apple Music and features such as lossless and spatial audio.

Apple didn't reveal details on when the app would be released, but it's clearly ready.

SportsKit Updates

A new developer interface appears to be able to dynamically display scores from different baseball games in the TV app, but users can't see much of it at the moment.

Automated bug fixing

iOS 15.5 fixes a bug that could cause home automations to fail frequently when people left or arrived.

"Information" security capabilities expand to other countries

iOS 15.5 expands communications security features in Messages to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Previously only available in the United States, it can scan underage users for nude photos sent or received in iMessage. If a minor receives such a photo, the photo will be blurred. The system warns them that the images may be harmful.

This feature is optional and must be enabled by a parent. It is limited to underage accounts.

Security fixes

iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 include more than 25 security fixes, Apple's security support website said. The vulnerabilities have not been exploited maliciously, but users are still advised to update.

There are also fixes for WebKit, the kernel, Wi-Fi, AppleAVD, and more.