14 DAY TRIAL // Apple continues the work on the next big iOS release, and today the company has published a new beta build for developers.
Most likely, a new beta is also projected to land for public testers in the coming days, possibly by the end of the week.
iOS 14.5 beta 5 obviously doesn’t include any new features, but is focused on further refining the experience with the operating system ahead of the public launch that could happen as soon as the next month.
Apple has so far remained tight-lipped on the ETA of this new iOS 14 update, but other betas are likely expected in the coming weeks as we approach the final stable build.
What’s new in iOS 14.5
Needless to say, the upcoming iOS update will introduce several new features, and the two most notable are the option to unlock an iPhone with an Apple Watch and Waze-inspired features in Apple Watch.
The first feature comes in handy especially during these awful times when unlocking an iPhone with Face ID is much harder given we’re all wearing masks. So Apple wants to allow users to unlock their devices when an Apple Watch is on the wrist, though the company wouldn’t enable payments when the iPhone is unlocked using this method.
In other words, if you want to make a payment via Apple Pay you still need to scan your face or enter the passcode even if this new feature is activated.
Apple Maps is also getting a massive overhaul in this update with the addition of incident reporting. This means users will be able to report things like accidents along their routes, which at the first glance sounds a lot like the crowdsourcing engine that’s powering Google’s very own Waze and which has turned this app into a must-have for drivers around the globe.