Apple today unveiled the second betas of iOS and iPadOS 14.5, based on the extensive feature set introduced in the first betas.
Changes in the second beta are less small than what we saw in the first beta, but there are still new additions that are worth highlighting. Below, we’ve rounded up the changes we noticed in the second beta.
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New Emoji Characters
As emphasized by Emojipedia, iOS 14.5 introduces several new emoji characters, including heart on fire, heart recovery, exhaled face, face with spiral eyes, face in clouds, along with various gender options for people with beards. There are also new couple emojis that have new skin tone mixes.
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Apple has remove the blood of the emoji from the syringe to give it a more neutral look that also works for vaccinations. The headphone emoji has been updated to look like the AirPods Max rather than a generic headphone set, and the rock climbing emoji now includes a helmet.
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Green Tint Fix?
Reports suggest that the second beta of iOS 14.5 may fix the issue with the green tint experienced by some iPhone owners. Some iPhone 12 models display a gray or green glow, a problem that Apple said it had already investigated in November. For some users there are improvements, but for others the problem still seems to exist, so it is not entirely clear whether the beta will definitely address the hue.
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Battery Pack Message
There is a vague mention of charging an ‘iPhone’ with a ‘battery pack’ in the iOS 14.5 code under the optimized charging section. It is not clear what Apple is referring to with ‘battery pack’, as existing battery options made by Apple are Smart Battery Case. This is an unusual wording for the case, or an indication of a future iPhone 12 battery. “To improve charging efficiency and maximize available battery life, your phone holds about 90% of the battery,” reads the text.
iPad Smart Folio Security
On the 8th generation iPad, the 4th generation iPad Air, the 2nd generation 11 inch iPad Pro and the 4th generation 12.9 inch iPad Pro, Apple has added a new privacy feature designed to mute the built-in. microphone when the Smart Folio is closed.
This will prevent apps from accessing the microphone when the tablet is not in use, and the feature also works with other MFi smart boxes. Apple first introduced this feature in the 2020 iPad Pro models and is expanding it to additional models.
Shortcuts
There’s a new shortcut action to take a snapshot that can be recorded in different shortcuts, plus new actions to lock the orientation of the iPhone and switch between cellular data modes. With the Voice & Data mode action, there are options to choose 5G, 5G Auto and 4G network options.
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Apple Music
There are new sliding gestures in Apple Music to play a song on the string or add it to the Apple Music library. If you press a song for a long time, there are also new options for ‘Play Last’ and ‘Show Album’. In the Library, the download button has been replaced with three dots that can be touched to access a whole range of options for a song. The actions are the same as the actions available when you long press a song title anywhere in the Music app.
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Software up to date text
The first iOS 14.5 beta changed the text of the software update to say “Your PiPhone is up to date with all the latest bug fixes and security enhancements,” but iOS 14.5 beta 2 runs it back. Now it just reads “iOS is up to date”, which could be place-by-place text for a future change.
App Store Privacy Labels
Apple has adjusted the look of the App Store’s privacy labels to make it easier to distinguish in the dark mode.
Code changes and minor features
There are a handful of changes to the underlying code that do not necessarily reflect new implementations of new features, but could possibly serve as an indication of what is to come in the future. There are also some minor changes and adjustments we include below.
- For the Find My app, there is new wording for AirTags or future third-party article trackers. “These are items that do not belong to you, but that you have seen continuously.”
- It is mentioned that Web Apps gain access to speech recognition.
- There is an Apple Watch accessibility option for headphone notifications, which makes it possible to disable the feature.
- Apps may ask you to connect with your Game Center friends for enhanced multiplayer.
Missing iOS 14.5 Beta 2 features?
Do you see something we missed? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll add it.
More iOS 14.5 features
We have a complete list of all the features that are new to iOS 14.5 dedicated iOS 14.5 feature guide, which is worth checking out if you want to know what to expect when the software is released to the public in early spring.