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iOS 15.5 released – HomeKit fix and security improvements

Apple has released iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 to the public, just weeks ahead of its upcoming reveal of iOS 16 at WWDC.

Unlike iOS 15.4, which brought us new emojis, Universal Control, and Face ID with Mask, this latest update doesn’t add much in terms of features.

Dig into Apple’s release notes and you’ll find a few small changes, including the ability for Apple Cash customers to send and request money from their cards. But at this point in the year we’re unlikely to get anything too exciting, with the rest of the changes exceptionally un-flashy. Case in point: perhaps the most notable change for most people is that the Podcasts app now limits your downloads to avoid using too much storage space. Useful, but… yawn.

Instead, Apple seems to be focusing on crushing bugs and improving performance, which is never a bad thing. In particular, iOS 15.5 fixes some problems with HomeKit that were affecting automations, so if you have a house full of smart gadgets be sure to grab this update to keep things running smoothly.

Beyond that, this update bolsters security for users by patching any recently-discovered vulnerabilities in iOS. But it’s difficult for us to pinpoint exactly what has been fixed, as explained by Apple’s security documentation:

“For the protection of our customers, Apple doesn’t disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until an investigation has occurred and patches or releases are generally available.”

As ever, you can grab this latest update from SettingsGeneral > Software Update. Simply follow the instructions to download and install iOS 15.5 or iPadOS 15.5.

If you have Automatic Updates enabled, you may find it has already been installed – in which case you’ll see a message stating that your device is up to date and you don’t need to do anything at all!