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AirTag battery indicator disappears from Find My app after iOS 15.6 update

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AirTag battery indicator disappears from Find My app after iOS 15.6 update
When you look for an AirTag in Find My, you no longer see a battery icon. unless it's very low.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Yesterday’s iOS 15.6 update and the newest iOS 16 beta show a surprising move on Apple’s part. It took away the Find My app’s AirTag battery indicator.

Previously, when you opened an AirTag card in Find My, you’d see a small battery icon showing remaining power below the tracking device’s name and location, Now you don’t, or at least not until remaining power is critically low.

Apple smashes Messages, CarPlay and HomeKit bugs with iOS 15.2.1

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iOS 15.2.1 update squashes some bugs in Messages and CarPlay.
iOS 15.2.1 squashes some bugs in Messages and CarPlay.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

iPhone users got small “bug fix” update on Wednesday. iOS 15.2.1 takes care of problems with Messages and CarPlay. And a HomeKit bug that made the news recently. In addition, iPadOS 15.2.1 is also out to take care of the same Messages bug.

Both updates are available for all, and are ready to be installed immediately.

iOS 15.0.1 patches irritating Unlock with Apple Watch bug

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iOS 15 has been replaced by iOS 15.0.1.
iOS 15 got its very first update: iOS 15.0.1.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple on Friday released an update for iOS 15 that takes care of a bug that disabled Unlock with Apple Watch on the iPhone 13 series. This patch — dubbed iOS 15.0.1 — has other bug fixes too, including one that incorrectly told users their storage was nearly full.

The new version is accompanied by iPadOS 15.0.1 with its own bug fixes.

iOS 12.5.5 update blocks Pegasus spyware from older iPhones

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iOS 12.5.5 update blocks Pegasus spyware from older iPhones
Install iOS 12.5.5 on your older iPhone to protect it from the Pegasus spyware.
Photo: Андрей Сидоренко/Pixabay/Cult of Mac

iPhone models that can’t install iOS 14 or iOS 15 can still get protection from the infamous Pegasus spyware thanks to iOS 12.5.5. Apple released this update Thursday for devices as old as the iPhone 5s to close a security hole in active use by hackers.

The same update can also be installed on older iPad and iPod touch models.

iOS 14.0.1 fixes a totally annoying iPhone bug

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iOS 14.0.1
iOS 14.0.1 lets you set Gmail as your default email application, and have it actually stick.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple released a bug-fix update to iOS 14 on Thursday. iOS 14.0.1 removes a number of problems — most notably, a bug that prevented users from permanently picking a new default email app and web browser. And iPad users get iPadOS 14.0.1 with the same fixes.

There are also bug fix updates out for Final Cut Pro and some of Apple’s other media-production applications for Mac.

First iOS 13.6 beta brings better option for automatic updates

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iOS 13.6 Developer Beta 2 replaces version 13.5.5
iOS 13.6 will make life easier for people who don’t want to install new iOS versions.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple decided to remove one of the little irritations of iPhone and iPad. Developers on Tuesday got their first look at iOS 13.6 and the iPad equivalent, which give users the option to not download new system software updates.

This is important enough to bring on a new iOS version number.

Escape Apple’s memory bug with iOS 13.3 public beta 1

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iOS 13.3 in beta
iOS 13 has made it easier for users to shut down location tracking.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Public beta testing just started for iOS 13.3, along with the iPad equivalent. This adds an important feature to Screen Time, but the main benefit of this pre-release version is it apparently fixes a serious memory-management problem introduced in iOS 13.2.

Google says iPhone security holes went unnoticed for 2 years

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for story on iPhone security
iPhone security had a few holes.
File photo: Cult of Mac

Google’s Project Zero team said it found gaping security holes in iPhone software that left users exposed to hackers before Apple fixed the flaws earlier this year.

Project Zero released a report on the flaws for the first time Thursday night. The team’s Threat Analysis Group found 14 different exploits that hackers used to gain private data, including photos, messages, contacts and real-time location information from iPhones.