IOS 14.5 Public Beta 3 Allows you to choose your default music service

iOS 14.5 Public Beta 3 brings back testers a feature we had in Public Beta 1, as well as the Find My app gaining privacy capability.

Let’s take a closer look.

Hey Siri, Play ‘Monopoly’

It was a “blink and you miss it” feature of iOS 14.5 Public Beta 1, but now, the first time you ask Siri to play a song, it asks which service would be best you use it for replay. Once selected, it will basically use that service the next time you request an audio replay. Siri will also helpfully help you to be able to request a switch to a different service anytime the next time you start audio playback.

This is awesome for those of us who are totally into something other than Apple Music (like Amazon Music or Spotify). It’s also a great way for Apple to start playing nice with other apps rather than forgetting its own services for everything.

Additionally, the Find Things tab is now fully enabled. You can’t do much with it right now, but there are rumors that you’ll be able to add all of your Bluetooth detectors to this, even if they’re not the mythical AirTags. Kind of like a Home dashboard, but for your Bluetooth headsets.

Here are the other features packed into iOS 14.5

• Emojis! Lots of emojis. 217 of them to be exact.
• Unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch (click here to see how).
• You can now swipe to add songs to your queue in Apple Music.
• The Shortcuts app has a few new tricks to enable and disable navigation lock, change cell modes, and take a screenshot.
• Now, when you launch an app that collects your activity data or finds you around your iDevice, you have the option to disable that harassment (as you should). There are some companies, like Facebook, that have made money off of selling activity data that users agreed to unknowingly share in the legal agreements that no one reads. never a bit tired. Personally, I fully support it because it allows people who would not have understood what they were agreeing to change their mind.
• The new Software Update shower screen (with the standard iOS version plus notification of when you last checked for a software update) has been tweaked a bit to remove the green check.
• Testing on an iPad? IPadOS now has a flat boot screen when your iPad is connected to a Magic Keyboard.
• For some carriers like T-Mobile, there is only a 5G version (but only use it if you know what you are doing).
• Dual SIM support is available worldwide with this news. This means you get 5G coverage when it becomes available even if you have both SIMs activated.
• You can now add the Apple Made “Made for You” mixes to your library in the Music app. The Music app now includes the release date for albums and tracks. And scrolling metadata for the Now Playing lock screen widget is back!
• The Podcasts app also gets some love with a similar redesign to the Music app. That can be seen on the Search page. Also, clicking on the podcast entry will take you to the podcast details page instead of starting to play right away (there is a smaller dedicated button for that now). Extremely helpful for when trying to find a specific program for a podcast with a long title (I’m looking at you Glass Cannon Network). Each podcast also gets new headers in the library to keep them shining.
• Fan of Apple News? The News app now has a dedicated search tab.
• You can finally set a reminder date, creation date, named date, or manual type of your choice in the Reminder app. You can now print memos as well.
• Do you have a PS5 or XBox Series X? Good luck to you. Now these controllers will work with your iDevice.
• Good news for you with smart TV! Apple Fitness + now has AirPlay 2 support. You won’t see your Apple Watch live data as you do if you’re connected via Apple TV, but it’s better than no support at all.
• Map app guides get a great shine in iOS 14.5 with spiffed up images and headers and content that looks much more polished.
• Type to Siri will no longer pull you out of your current location when called, just as it will when you are not using the type interface. It’s a little bit of consistency.
• Replying to a message with Siri is the same kind of update, maintaining context wherever you are when called instead of dragging you into a greyed-out screen.

What is broken / what is repaired?

With so many new features in iOS 14.5, it’s no surprise that there are so few more bugs than we’re used to seeing this late in the iOS lifecycle. Of course that means we see any. Usually with Q3 of iOS we are at 0-1 bug level. The official press releases list what is fixed and what is still the bug.

• Fixed! : If you have a newer iPad, you can now connect to an external display via USB-C Digital Multiport Adapter without question.
• Busted! Handpod handoff (previously working) is busted again.

That’s it for the official press releases, but that doesn’t mean that’s all. As always, report any bugs you find (especially with third-party apps) via the Feedback app.

What now?

I very much understand that iOS 14.5 seems to be about giving users more control back. Between basic audio apps, an Apple Watch solution, and tracking notifications, this release gives me hope that Apple is considering its users, how they use their iDevices, and what features quality of life that is going to help them the most.

Maybe it’s just because we’re coming out of a year with nothing but trash fires, but a company trying to make my life a little easier is making me happy right now.

iOS 14.5 is bursting at the cracks with new features and quality of life improvements for iOS users. It is not surprising, then, that we are seeing a slightly slower cycle of development. We’d normally have three or four betas in at this point, but Apple is sticking to a quiet resting schedule right now. IOS 14.5 will most likely release this month, but it may not be until mid-March or later.

Now that all the features for the release seem to be packed into the build, I think that timeline will accelerate, but I’ve been wrong before. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a new Public Beta 4 next week, but if it doesn’t go on to two weeks from now, that would make sense as well.

That way, I’ll see you as soon as the next beta hits!