Apple rolls out iOS 15 update for iPhones

Tech giant Apple first announced a huge software update for its iPhones back in June. Now all the new features are finally available.

The tech giant announced the major change in June and it finally came into effect at 3am Tuesday.

Apple’s hotly anticipated iOS 15 software is finally rolling out to iPhones across the globe.

The tech giant announced the major update to its operating system back in June and said it would be released sometime during the northern hemisphere autumn 2021.

Apple has confirmed that iOS 15 will be available to download from the beginning of this week, September 20.

Around 3am Tuesday morning, Apple announced the update had opened up to Australian phones.

Now that it’s out, you can download the update by heading to your Settings app. Tap General > Software Update.

In addition to the major iPhone update, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15 have also arrived.

A release date for macOS 12 Monterey has yet to be announced.

The update was announced three months ago. Picture: Alastair Pike/AFP

iOS 15 features

One new iOS 15 feature is called Focus and it’s a tool that enables users to set different notification preferences depending on what they’re doing.

For instance, you will have the option to select if the phone makes a sound or not, or whether it vibrates, depending on your current status.

You’ll be able to use a new menu to select if you’re driving, working, sleeping or a custom status of your choosing.

The menu will be shown on the updated lock screen and in Control Centre, the iPhone and iPad’s menu for quickly getting to settings.

Focus will even notify your iMessage contacts of your status to let them know why you’re not responding to their texts.

Major iMessage updates

Apple is also working on major updates to iMessage that will make it more like a social media platform, like WhatsApp.

One way it’s doing this is by making it easier to manage and engage with the photos and news articles that your friends share through the app.

The Apple Photos and Apple News apps will have new areas that only store the content shared by your friends.

A number of the company’s other apps, such as Wallet, Safari, Apple Maps and Health, are also getting minor improvements.

There are changes to iMessage, Wallet, Safari, Apple Maps, Health and FaceTime. Pictured is Apple CEO Tim Cook speaking in 2019. Picture: Josh Edelson/AFP

FaceTime, for instance, will let you blur the background of your videos.

It will give your video feed a similar effect to the Portrait mode available on the cameras of recent iPhones.

You’ll also be able to upload your passport or driver’s licence to Apple Wallet, letting you check in at, for instance, airports, using your phone.

Another new feature unveiled by Apple is designed to make it easier to show your friends what you’re listening to or watching.

Called Share Play, it allows you to listen to music or watch a streaming app with members of a call, with the video synced up for all users.

Notifications are getting a new look, and will now be grouped into a helpful collection called Notification Summary.

Apple will use AI to figure out which notifications are most important to you. You can set which time of day you’d like to be reminded to read them.

Apple periodically releases software updates for iOS, the operating system that powers the iPhone.

As well as bug fixes and the patching of security holes, the downloads add new features that Apple’s engineers have been working on.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced here with permission