IOS 14.5 update: protects male privacy, emoji and Siri

You can unlock iPhone using Apple Watch

Starting today, users can use

your Apple Watch to securely unlockiPhone when trying to use Face ID with a face mask. If the Apple Watch is on the wrist, unlocked, and in close proximity to the iPhone, users can simply glance at their iPhone and they will receive haptic feedback from the Apple Watch indicating that their iPhone is unlocked. The new feature works with iPhone X and later and Apple Watch Series 3 and later. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the mandatory wearing of masks, the update will be especially in demand.

Siri will now be of any gender

In iOS 14.5 Siri no longer has a female voice by default. Users will be able to choose their own voice when setting up the device for the first time. By the way, in English you can now select more diverse voice parameters. By the way, the new Siri voices use Neural Text to Speech technology for a more natural sound. Developers from Cupertino assure that it has much less “mechanical” intonations. As the company noted in its press release, the update underscores Apple's "commitment to diversity and inclusion by offering products and services that are designed to better reflect the world."

Siri also gets new features withGroup FaceTime support. The developers assure that this will greatly simplify the conference with multiple contacts. In addition to incoming messages, Siri can now announce incoming calls through AirPods or compatible Beats headphones. In addition, the voice assistant now supports calling contacts in case of emergency, if the iPhone owner needs help and cannot call.

Cuba without them - new emoji

iOS 14.5 introduces new emojis for couples, with a choice of different skin tones. Additional emojis include characters to exhale a face, a face with spiral eyes, a face in the clouds, hearts on fire, a heart fix, and a woman with a beard, among others.

Most importantly, the new privacy policy

For many years Apple users(and not only) are concerned about data confidentiality. Presenting the new iOS 14.5, Apple announced the end of the era of opaque ad tracking. According to the developers, the update will relieve users from the feeling that they cannot control the leakage of personal data. With the release of Apple iOS 14.5, all apps will be required to ask in a pop-up window, “Do you want this app to track your activity in other companies' apps and websites?” And, yes, this time your answer may be no.

In other words, starting from this version of the OS, everythingapplications are required to warn the user that they are collecting his data. If the user refuses to collect data (that is, he has such a choice), then the application owner will not be able to use it for targeted advertising. To put it simply, the ability to trade user data is sharply reduced, and this undermines the established business models of IT giants with a huge customer base.

Many of the biggest privacy crisesdata over the past few years have arisen not because of any violations or leaks, but because of opaque policies. They preferred to hide from users how companies exchange user data and track it in various services for targeted advertising. How does it even work?

Marketers assign each deviceID and then yours are tracked online and in-app behavior across multiple platforms to create composite profiles of demographic information, shopping habits and life events. Apple has already "taken a strong stance to thwart ad tracking in its Safari browser," Wired writes. The latest iOS update puts an ultimatum on apps too. But while the move may seem obvious to iOS users, it has sparked significant controversy among companies that rely on ad revenue, including Facebook.

Already in February 2021 relationships betweenApple and Facebook were heating up to the limit - the social network really didn’t like the new privacy rules that the company was only planning to introduce, starting with the iOS 14.5 operating system.

Facebook believes Apple's innovations will "kill"small business. “Ads without targeting generate 60% fewer sales than ads aimed at a specific consumer,” Facebook representatives said at the time.

At the same time, Harvard analystsBusiness Review said Facebook was lying. The social network says entrepreneurs' income could fall by an impressive 60%, but that figure is based on combining two very different metrics: advertising-related revenue and ad-generated revenue. In their opinion, Facebook greatly overestimates the benefits of targeted advertising—the company selected only those data that best supported its version, and then inflated the indicators by a third.

Previous CEOs of Apple companiesand Facebook exchanged mutual claims. The head of the Apple company, Tim Cook, criticized the social network for collecting user data and technologies that increase the flow of misinformation. In turn, Mark Zuckerberg accused Apple of violating competition.

“In times of total disinformationand conspiracy theories fueled by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to the theory of technology that says that any interaction is a good interaction, the longer the better, and all with the goal of collecting as much as possible data,” Tim Cook emphasized then.

To date, iOS has already given itsusers the ability to completely disable ad ID sharing, essentially zeroing out the unique identifier on the phone - IDFA. It is his iOS provides developers for tracking in applications and between services. However, the new iOS 14.5 requirements force each app to ask users a question individually through Apple's AppTrackingTransparency platform. Now the user has you to grant privileges to certain applications if, for example, you prefer to see customized ads on a certain service. But it will also just show you how many apps are involved in cross-service ad tracking, including those you might not have known about.

Additional iOS 14.5 features

  • Apple Podcasts got the show pages redesigned tomake it easier to start listening, as well as the ability to save and load episodes so they are automatically added to your library for quick access. Top charts, categories and curated collections on the Search tab help listeners “discover new shows,” the developers note.
  • SupportAirTagallows users to track and findimportant items like keys, wallet, backpack, etc. privately and securely in the Find My app. Let's remember that AirTag is Apple's wireless beacon designed to find lost items, which was introduced in April 2021. Such a beacon can be placed in one of the sections of a bag, wallet or suitcase in order to be able to track its location on the smartphone screen. AirTag was first shown at the iOS 13 presentation in 2019, but then the release was delayed several times.

    Russians will not be able to use their full potentialApple AirTag search tags - UWB technology is prohibited in the country, due to which these tags can be found at a distance of up to 300 meters. The main reason for the ban is that it can interfere with the operation of radars. However, Apple received permission to test UWB in Russia - it will last until October 2021, after which the company will have a chance to fully implement UWB in its gadgets sold in the Russian market.

    In other words, Russians wishing to purchaseAirTag tags, you will have to come to terms with two facts - firstly, they will have to overpay, and secondly, even taking this into account, they will not be able to take advantage of all their capabilities. On the Russian market, one AirTag tag costs 3,000 rubles, and a set of four costs 10 thousand. rub. against $29 (2180 rub. according to the Central Bank exchange rate as of 26 April 2021 ) and $99 (7430 rub.) in the USA, respectively.

  • Apple NewsThere's an updated News+ tab thatmakes it easier for subscribers to quickly find, download and manage magazines and newspapers, and an all-new search experience helps all Apple News users find relevant topics, channels and stories.
  • Apple Fitness + userscan now stream audio and video to TVs and devices that support AirPlay 2.
  • Remindersadd the ability to sort by title, priority, due date, or creation date, and offer the ability to print reminder lists.
  • 5G improvementsfor iPhone 12 models include support for twoSIM cards for 5G connectivity and an enhanced Smart Data Mode to further optimize your network experience, including increased battery life and data usage.

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