Apple today released iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 to the public. Unlike iOS 13.5 which was a major release, iOS 13.6 is a relatively minor update that contains some bug fixes, though it does introduce one key new feature. Read below to know everything that’s new in iOS 13.6.
iOS 13.6 contains some minor usability changes and adds two new features, though they are nothing major.
What’s New in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6
Car Key
Apple talked about Car Key when it announced iOS 14 at WWDC 2020 last month. Instead of waiting until the release of iOS 14 later this fall, Apple is bringing the feature to all iPhones with the release of iOS 13.6. Using Car Play, iPhone owners who have a BMW car will be able to unlock and use it without a physical car key.
Control Over Automatic Updates
In iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6, Apple is providing users with greater control over how they want to install OS updates. Previously, users only had the option to download and install an iOS update automatically. In iOS 13.6, Apple has separated these two options meaning one can download an iOS update automatically but install it manually when they wish to.
Apple News+ Audio Stories
Apple is adding audio versions of stories in Apple News+. This will allow users to listen to an article instead of reading it — a great feature to quickly catch up on news and other articles while driving, cooking, etc. The feature was first spotted in the iOS 13.5.5 beta.
Apple is also adding CarPlay support to the News app meaning users will be able to listen to audio stories and Apple News Today while driving.
Apple News Today
Apart from News+ audio stories, Apple is also introducing Apple News Today, a daily audio news briefing where Apple News editors will “guide listeners through some of the most fascinating stories in the news.” It will be available for free to all listeners and available from Monday through Friday mornings in the US.
Curated Local News in the US
With the iOS 13.6 update, Apple is also adding a curated local news experience in selected parts of the United States including the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and more. This will offer readers content from local publishers and cover important community topics.
Additionally, Apple News+ is gaining content from publishers like The Charlotte Observer, the Idaho Statesman, The Kansas City Star, the Miami Herald, The News & Observer, and more.
‘Symptoms’ Section in Health App
The Health app in iOS 13.6 has gained a new ‘Symptoms’ section where you can log symptoms of various illnesses that you have. This includes Abdominal Cramps, Body and Muscle Ache, Congestion, Constipation, and much more. Furthermore, you can add whether the Symptom is Severe, Moderate, Mild, Present, or Not Present. Each symptom is accompanied by a brief description at the bottom.
Apple News App Retains Reading Positions
Another minor change in iOS 13.6 is that the Apple News app will retain your reading position in an article. So if you exit the app or the article and go back to it again, the article will open from the same position where you had last left it. A minor change but one that helps improve the experience of using Apple News.
FaceTime Support in UAE
Apple has also added FaceTime support for the iPhone in the UAE, though to use the feature, one must change the region of their device to another location.
The full release notes of iOS 13.6 is below:
Digital car keys
● Unlock, lock, and start your compatible car with your iPhone
● Securely remove digital keys from a lost device via iCloud
● Share digital keys easily with iMessage
● Driver-specific profiles so you can configure shared keys for full-access or restricted driving
● Power reserve lets you unlock and start your car for up to five hours after iPhone runs out of battery
Apple News
● Audio stories are professionally narrated versions of some of the best reads from Apple News+, selected and produced by the Apple News editors as part of your Apple News+ subscription
● Apple News Today is a new, free audio briefing on the day’s top stories from the Apple News editors, also available in the Podcasts app
● A new Audio tab makes it easy to find Apple News Today and Apple News+ audio stories
● CarPlay allows you to listen to Apple News Today and Apple News+ audio stories while on the road
● Local news in your Today feed provides extensive coverage of San Francisco, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York City
● More stories available from local news providers with a subscription to Apple News+
● Your daily newsletter from Apple News can now be personalized with stories that reflect your interests
Health
● New category for symptoms in the Health app, including symptoms logged from Cycle Tracking and ECG
● Ability to log new symptoms, like fever, chills, sore throat or coughing, and share them with third-party apps
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements.
● Adds a new setting to choose if updates automatically download to your device when on Wi-Fi
● Addresses an issue that could cause apps to become unresponsive when syncing data from iCloud Drive
● Fixes an issue that could cause data roaming to appear to be disabled on eSIM even though it remained active
● Fixes an issue thats causes some phone calls from Saskatchewan to appear as originating from the United States
● Addresses an issue that could interrupt audio when making phone calls over Wi-Fi Calling
● Fixes an issues that prevented some iPhone 6S and iPhone SE devices from registering for Wi-Fi Calling
● Resolves an issue that could cause the software keyboard to appear unexpectedly when connected to certain third-party hardware keyboards
● Fixes an issue that could cause Japanese hardware keyboards to be incorrectly mapped as a U.S. keyboard
● Addresses stability issues when accessing Control Center when Assistive Touch was enabled
● Provides a mechanism for administrators to specify domains to exclude from traffic carried by always-on VPN connections
Noticed any other changes in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 that are not mentioned above? Drop a comment and let us know about it!
