Stats Prove Very few iPhone users opted-in to get tracked. Sorry Facebook…

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As per Flurry Media, merely 4% of users in the United States opted-in for being tracked by apps in the second week after iOS 14.5’s release.

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iOS 14.5 is out with AirTags support, App Tracking Transparency and Siri upgrades

Apple has just released the iOS 14.5 update via the stable channel. Almost all the features that arrive with the latest update have already been documented during the beta testing phase. In case you missed the coverage, here is a quick rundown of everything new that iOS 14.5 brings to the table:

So, Apple received some criticism over the unlocking mechanism on iPhones as Face ID simply didn’t work with masks. Thanks to iOS 14.5, there is now a way to avoid the annoyance, as users can now unlock their iPhone with an Apple Watch. However, you need an iPhone X or a later model with Face ID, and the Apple Watch Series 3 or a successor to take advantage of the feature.

iOS 14.5 new features
App Tracking Transparency and reporting feature in Maps is here.

One of the biggest changes to arrive with iOS 14.5 is App Tracking Transparency, which makes it mandatory for apps to take explicit permission from users for tracking them. Users will have a choice if they want to see personalized ads and have their activities tracked. The update also adds support for the AirTag object tracker that Apple launched earlier this month.

Moreover, dual-SIM 5G support has finally arrived for the iPhone 12 series phones. With iOS 14.5, Siri now lets you choose from a total of four voices, and it now sounds more natural, thanks to Neural Text to Speech technology. Plus, the AI assistant can also start group FaceTime video calls, and gains support for announcing incoming calls via compatible audio devices such as AirPods and Beats branded headphones.

Airtag red keychain
iOS 14.5 adds support for AirTag object tracker

Additionally, Apple Maps will now allow users to report an accident, speed check, and hazards they come across during their journey. When navigation mode is enabled on iPhone or CarPlay, users can simply summon Siri and utter relevant voice commands such as “Hey Siri, there’s a crash ahead.” Users can also do the job of reporting manually using the new Report an Issue feature in Maps.

Listed below are a few other changes introduced by iOS 14.5:

* Apple Podcasts gets redesigned show pages to make it easier to start listening, as well as an option to save and download episodes so they are automatically added to Library for quick access. Top Charts, categories, and curated collections on the Search tab help listeners discover new shows.
* Apple News features a redesigned News+ tab, making it easier for subscribers to quickly find, download, and manage magazine and newspaper issues, and an all-new Search experience helps all Apple News users find relevant topics, channels, and stories.
* Apple Fitness+ users can now stream audio and video to AirPlay 2-enabled TVs and devices.
* Reminders adds the ability to sort by title, priority, due date, or creation date, and offers the option to print reminder lists.
* Voice Control for Accessibility gives users comprehensive navigation with just their voice, and is now expanding English support to Australia and Canada and adding support for Spanish in Mexico, Spain, and the United States.

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Apple will release iOS 14.5 update with AirTag support next week

Apple finally launched its long-delayed AirTag object tracker earlier today. There was not much of a surprise element there, as leaks had already given us a glimpse of what they look like and also revealed some of their key capabilities. But they’re finally here, and it’s a big deal for folks who have been awaiting its arrival patiently for years. However, the announcement also marked Apple revealing the release window for iOS 14.5 update that adds support for Apple’s object tracker. Curious? As per Apple, iOS 14.5 update will be rolled out next week.

“AirTag requires iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 14.5 or later, or iPad running iPadOS 14.5 or later. These software updates will be available starting next week. Customers must have an Apple ID and be signed into their iCloud account. Certain features require Find My to be enabled in iCloud settings,” Apple said in its press release. Once the update arrives, users will be able to link the AirTag with their device using the Find My app. Once the linking is done using the iCloud account, AirTag taps into the global Find My network to track your belongings.

airtag in action

Made out of stainless steel, the Apple-branded object tracker is also IP67-certified for dust and water resistance. AirTags are priced at $29 a pop, however, you can save some cash if you purchase the 4-pack that costs $99. They will be up for grabs starting Friday on April 30, just a few days before the rollout of iOS 14.5 begins via the stable channel.

In addition to adding support for AirTag, iOS 14.5 will also add a ton of useful features, some of which have already been spotted in action via the beta updates. One of them is ‘Unlock with Apple Watch’ that allows users to unlock their iPhone using an Apple Watch, saving them the trouble of removing face masks for Face ID to do its trick. Additionally, the update will also enable support for dual-SIM connectivity globally, and adds a new crowdsourcing feature for reporting accidents in Apple Maps, thanks to a new ‘Report’ button.

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Over 90 percent iPhones now run iOS 14

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iOS 14 was released last year, and within seven months of public introduction, the OS is running on over 90 percent of the iPhone models. The number comes from the latest analysis by a business analytics service company. Ahead of the iOS 15 release at WWDC 2021 event, iOS 14 is running on the majority of the devices. To recall, 81 percent of all iPhone models released in the previous four years were already running iOS 14 back in December. The number increased to 86 percent by late February, and now, in April, it is over 90 percent.

Mixpanel, a business analytics service company shared data that says that iOS 14 is now running on 90.44 percent of iPhones. The adoption rate is respectable, especially when the OS was released to the public in September last year. Further, the data shows that 5.07 percent of users are on iOS 13 while 4.49 percent of users are still on older operating systems. The numbers have been measured till April 5.

Mixpanel iOS 14
Via: Mixpanel

In December 2020, the Apple Developer website stated that 81 percent of all iPhone models and 75 percent of all iPad models released in the previous four years were running iOS 14 and iPadOS, respectively. Apple also said that iOS 14 adoption has increased to 86 percent and iPadOS adoption has increased to 84 percent as measured on February 24, 2021. Hence, the latest percentages are not surprising, despite them not coming straight from Apple.

As of now, Apple is rolling out iOS 14.5,  which was said to allow users to select a default music service for Siri requests, other than Apple Music. Later, Apple issued a clarification that it is false since iOS 14.5 doesn’t have a dedicated option to pick a default music service, unlike email and browser apps. As it was reported back then, the non-availability of this feature is likely to add a layer of friction that might keep users hooked to its Apple Music service.

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Apple makes it clear iOS 14.5 won’t really let you pick a ‘default’ music service

One of the biggest changes that Apple introduced with iOS 14 was the ability to set third-party apps as default for certain tasks. For example, you can now set Gmail as the default app for emails instead of Apple Mail, while your go-to browser for opening links could be anything from Chrome to Edge, and not Safari by default. And with the arrival of iOS 14.5 beta, users noticed that Siri now asks them to select a music service for playing songs and defaulted to it for a while. However, it is not going to work the same way as email and browser apps.

Unlike email and browser, there is no option to pick a default music service at system level

Apple has told TechCrunch that iOS 14.5 doesn’t have a dedicated option to pick a default music service on your iPhone, unlike email and browsers. Users will only be able to pick a music service when Siri presents them with a list of options to choose from. Apple is not blocking other services though. Instead, if you specifically namedrop a service in your voice command, Siri will comply with your request.

“Instead, the feature is Siri intelligence-based, meaning it can improve and even change over time as Siri learns to better understand your listening habits. For example, if you tell Siri to play a song, album or artist, it may ask you which service you want to use to listen to this sort of content.”TechCrunch

So, if you pick a service – say Spotify – for playing a song when Siri asks you to, that doesn’t mean Siri will now remember and set Spotify as the default music service forever. In fact, the virtual assistant might again ask you to specify which service you want to stream a song from. And as mentioned above, there is no dedicated toggle or feature baked in iOS 14.5 that will let you pick a default music service.

This is Apple's way of saying we're giving you a choice, but not all the way

However, it appears that Siri will learn from your preference over time. Even though it is not what users have wanted, there is at least some semblance of it, which Apple might be offering to avoid claims of anti-competitive practices from rivals like Spotify. On Apple’s part, the non-availability of an option to set a default music service appears equivalent to adding a layer of friction that might keep users hooked to its Apple Music service.

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iOS 14.5 lets you set third-party apps such as Spotify as default music and podcast app

With the arrival of iOS 14, Apple finally allowed users to set a third-party app as their default email client and web browser. Now, it looks like the company is going to extend the convenience to music and podcast apps well. iOS 14.5 beta has been released, and multiple users have spotted that they can now set Spotify as their default music app. However, it appears to be half-baked at the moment and is not widely available either.

The feature is buggy and inconsistent at the moment

First shared on Reddit (via MacRumors), users who are running the latest beta of iOS 14.5 are now able to set Spotify as their default music and podcast app. However, the feature appears to be working in varied ways for different users. For some users, asking Siri to play a song first prompts them to choose an app for playing it. Earlier, music playback via Siri defaulted to Apple Music.

For some users, they aren’t seeing the Siri prompt for selecting the default music or podcast app. Instead, Apple’s virtual assistant just asked them to grant it access to their Spotify app and related data. Once the permission is granted, all song requests via Siri are fulfilled via Spotify. However, it appears that there is no option in the Settings app to manually set a third-party app as the default music and podcast app in iOS 14.5 beta yet.

There is no option to change the default music or podcast app in Settings

As per the aforementioned Reddit thread, Siri can even play songs from the Liked playlist on Spotify when asked to do so. However, multiple users have reported that the feature is inconsistent, and in some cases, Siri picked Deezer instead of Spotify as the default music app on its own. However, a buggy experience is to be expected, since this is a beta build and Apple will likely find and remove all the issues before iOS 14.5 is rolled out widely via the stable channel.

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