Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.5 updates to developers, two weeks after seeding the second betas and a month after releasing iOS and iPadOS 13.4 with iCloud Folder Sharing, iPad trackpad support, and more.
iOS and iPadOS 13.5 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer center or over the air after the proper developer profile has been installed.
iOS 13.5 is not a typo – Apple has introduced an API change to include initial support for its exposure notification platform in both the new iOS beta and Xcode 11.5, necessitating the version update to iOS 13.5 because it’s using a different SDK than iOS 13.4.
Today’s update introduces the exposure notification API in a beta capacity to allow public health authorities to begin developing COVID–19 contact tracing apps that take advantage of it. Most of the features are for health-related apps that will incorporate the new API, but there is a toggle that is designed to allow users to opt out of participating in COVID-19 exposure notifications.
The update features the same content that was in iOS 13.4.5 beta 2 along with the addition of support for apps that use the exposure notification API, which is set to be released officially in mid-May.
Earlier betas have introduced a new Apple Music feature that allows Apple Music songs to be shared on Instagram Stories. Tapping the Share button on a song in Apple Music creates a story with a song title, album name, and animated background, but at this time there is no way to get to Apple Music from the shared information.
iOS 13.5 also patches two security vulnerabilities that affect the Mail app on the iPhone and the iPad. One vulnerability allowed an attacker to remotely infect an iOS device by sending emails that consume a significant amount of memory, while another allowed remote code executions.
The update may also address an issue with Personal Hotspot that prevents it from working for some people and it could also fix a VPN-related vulnerability, both of which are bugs that Apple has promised to address in upcoming iOS updates.
Update: Apple has also seeded the new iOS 13.5 beta to public beta testers.
