iOS and iPad OS 13.5 with COVID-19 features now available

Written by Jewel Sta AnaPublished • May 21, 2020

Apple rolls out iOS and iPadOS 13.5 on for the iPhone and iPad, bringing in COVID-19-related features.

As tweeted by Apple CEO Tim Cook, the COVID-19 exposure notification that the company created with Google is now available on the software update. This helps public health agencies in simplifying the process of contact tracing.

Technology can help health officials rapidly tell someone they may have been exposed to COVID-19. Today the Exposure Notification API we created with @Google is available to help public health agencies make their COVID-19 apps effective while protecting user privacy.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 20, 2020

Among other features include enhanced Face ID which allows users to unlock their mobile devices even when wearing a mask and option on preventing the FaceTime app from resizing video tiles on Group calls.

The update also contains bug fixes and improvements.

With a download size of 500MB, the software update is available for iPhone 6s and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch 7th generation.

To check for the update, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update.