Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of iOS and iPadOS 15 to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming two weeks after Apple released the eighth betas.
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Registered developers can download the profile for the iOS and iPadOS betas from the Apple Developer Center, and once the profile is installed, beta updates will be available over the air.
iOS 15 is a major update that introduces a slew of new features focused on cutting down on distractions and spending more time with friends and family.
FaceTime has a revamped interface with new SharePlay features for listening to music, watching videos, and sharing your screen with your friends and family members, though this is delayed until after the launch of iOS 15. In Messages, if something like a url, photo, news article, or song is shared with you, you can see the content in Apple’s dedicated apps through a new Shared With You Feature.
Focus lets you create custom notification modes that hide irrelevant apps and notifications when you’re doing things like working or spending time with your family so you can better focus on the activity at hand, and there’s a new notification summary that de-prioritizes less important notifications so you’re not constantly inundated with information.
Maps includes a new 3D view in select cities that lets you see 3D landmarks, there are immersive AR directions when walking, and driving directions are better than ever, especially at complex interchanges.
Safari has been redesigned with a new look that moves the Tab Bar to the bottom of the interface (though this is optional), plus it now supports Tab Groups for improved organization, and extensions can be used in Safari for iOS devices for the first time. Later this year you’ll be able to add your ID card to the Wallet app in some U.S. states, and Apple is making it easier to add key cards for hotels, smart home locks, and more to the Wallet app.
Spotlight is better than ever and can bring up more tailored search results, and Photos has a “Live Text” feature that lets you take a photo of something with text like a receipt to translate it into typed text on your iPhone. Photos can also identify landmarks, books, plants, and pets, so you can snap a photo of a plant and get information on what it might be.
Apple has also added multiple privacy improvements, such as a new App Privacy report coming to the iPhone that will let you know how often apps access sensitive info like your location, a Mail feature that hides your IP address, and Siri processing that’s done on device.
For a complete overview of everything that’s new in iOS 15, we have a dedicated roundup that walks through all of the new features, and Apple has been adding feature refinements throughout the beta testing period. The sixth beta, for example, overhauled the design of Safari and added a toggle to disable changes introduced in earlier betas. In the seventh beta, Apple said that iCloud Private Relay will be introduced as a beta feature at launch.
The Release Candidate versions are the versions that will be provided to the public when iOS 15 sees an official release. iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 will be released on Monday, September 20.
