Everything New in the iOS 15.5 Beta: Apple Classical References, Apple Pay Cash Updates and More

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the first betas of iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 to developers after a three week long wait following the launch of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4. The new updates aren't as feature rich as the prior updates and focus primarily on under-the-hood changes, but there are still a few minor tweaks, which we've outlined below.

Apple Classical References

There are references to the upcoming "Apple Classical" app that Apple has in development to complement Apple Music, suggesting the standalone app could soon see a launch. There are "Open in Apple Classical" and "Open this in the new app designed for classical music" in the Music app code, but the Classical app has not yet launched.

Apple acquired classical music streaming service Primephonic back in August 2021 and said that it would be building a new classical music experience for Apple Music. Apple is planning to launch a new standalone app dedicated to classical music, and the app will combine Primephonic's user interface and specializations for classical music with ‌Apple Music‌ and features such as Lossless and Spatial Audio. Apple has not provided details on when the app might come out, but preparations are clearly being made.

Apple Pay Cash

In the Apple Pay Cash section of the Wallet app, there are now "Request" and "Send" buttons to make it easier to manage cash directly from Wallet.

Apple Pay in the Messages app has also been renamed "Apple Cash."

Home App

There now are WiFi signal bars that let you ensure the HomePod has a connection in the Home app.

Universal Control

According to Apple's macOS release notes, Universal Control in the new iPadOS 15.5 and macOS Monterey 12.4 updates is not compatible with machines running macOS 12.3 or iPadOS 15.4, so Apple suggests that as a workaround, users should update their Universal Control devices to the new betas.

SportsKit Updates

Apple is continuing to build out its "SportsKit" support as it prepares to launch Friday Night Baseball, and there are TV app mentions for reporting scores for different baseball innings.

Apple Card

Apple now refers to the physical Apple Card as the "Titanium Card" in the Wallet app.

iTunes Pass Rebranding

Apple is apparently working to rebrand the "iTunes Pass" in Wallet, renaming it "Apple Account Card." References to the change were highlighted by 9to5Mac and have been confirmed by MacRumors.

There used to be an option to add an "iTunes Pass" to the Wallet app that features the money associated with your Apple ID. Apple appears to have removed the option to add an iTunes Pass in the United States, but it is still present in other countries. It's possible a whole new Apple Account Card option will be coming to the Wallet app in the future.

"Your account balance can be used to buy products, accessories, apps, games and more online or in store with Apple Pay," reads the code.

External Links in Reader Apps

iOS 15.5 adds support for the "External Link Account Entitlement" that is designed to allow reader apps to add a link to an external website for account creation and management purposes. An external link will allow an app like Netflix to offer a way to sign up for an account outside of the App Store in-app purchase system.

Reader apps include those that provide digital content like magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, or video as the primary functionality of the app, with Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, and other apps serving as an example.

Photo Memories

Apple in iOS 15.5 added a list of "Sensitive Locations" to the Photos app, which means those locations are blocked from showing up in memories. Included on this list are various concentration camps and holocaust memorials.

Apple Music Playback API

iOS 15.5 reintroduces an Apple Music API that allows third-party Apple Music players to change the playback speeds of songs. The API was removed in iOS 15.4, but it is being put back in iOS 15.5.

Other Features

Find another iOS 15.5 feature that we left out? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: Everything New in the iOS 15.5 Beta: Apple Classical References, Apple Pay Cash Updates and More

 

[DHagan4755]

Apple having a separate music app just for classical music is a mistake. Apple needs to really work out all of the bugs on their primary music app, especially on macOS.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1509352644619419705

 

[ELman]

The Apple Pay Cash update sounds like a nice improvement. Using iMessage to pay can be confusing for someone that has never used the service.

 

[Kylo83]

Could of done something little like add batt % number back or remove home bar but nope we get small changes that no one cares about lol

 

[nathan_reilly]

really looking forward to apple classical...the content gets butchered by their current approach

 

[Eorlas]

Could of done something little like add batt % number back or remove home bar but nope we get small changes that no one cares about lol

toggles for both of these would just be absolutely wicked.

miss having a jailbreak. there were tweaks quickly dropped for these, and having the homebar area removed was a nice removal of clutter, and screen real estate regained

 

[BeatCrazy]

Here's the origins of the Classical app: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/08/apple-acquires-classical-music-streaming-service-primephonic/

I really enjoy Concertino, and I hope the new first-party app is just as good.

 

[Kylo83]

toggles for both of these would just be absolutely wicked.

miss having a jailbreak. there were tweaks quickly dropped for these, and having the homebar area removed was a nice removal of clutter, and screen real estate regained

The home bar has bugged me since day one, we don’t need it but it’s always in the way of games and apps let people have it if they need it but we know how to use our phone

 

[Mr. Awesome]

Could of done something little like add batt % number back or remove home bar but nope we get small changes that no one cares about lol

I swear this is the only thing you ever say on this forum.

 

[Jett0516]

Apple need to add a fullscreen video button as I am too lazy to rotate the phone.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

iTunes Pass... lol, I forgot that was even a thing.

 

[G.McGilli]

I can see the future...

$5/month for Apple Classical
$5/month for Apple Rap
$5/month for Apple Rock
$5/month for Apple Pop
$5/month for Apple Western

and so on...

Until...

$5/month for Apple Kanye
$5/month for Apple Beatles

etc...

 

[GuruZac]

At this point, I'm look forward more so to see what iPadOS 16 brings. Other than multitasking with split view on iOS, there's nothing else I feel like needs major overhauling with iOS. But iPadOS needs a lot of opening up to take advantage of the across the lineup impressive hardware.

 

[BrownyQ]

Apple having a separate music app just for classical music is a mistake. Apple needs to really work out all of the bugs on their primary music app, especially on macOS.

I've seen this sentiment shared often on these forums; could you elaborate?

I've been using Music since the iTunes days, and while I agree it could be improved, I've never found it to be buggy in the traditional sense.

 

[GuruZac]

Apple having a separate music app just for classical music is a mistake. Apple needs to really work out all of the bugs on their primary music app, especially on macOS.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1509352644619419705

Makes no sense having another music app just for one genre ?‍♂️

 

[MNGR]

I've seen this sentiment shared often on these forums; could you elaborate?I've been using Music since the iTunes days, and while I agree it could be improved, I've never found it to be buggy in the traditional sense.

I think an app tailored to classical would be better.
Classical is NOT rock/rap/hip, etc.

 

[antiprotest]

Could of done something little like add batt % number back or remove home bar but nope we get small changes that no one cares about lol

The notch destroyed your precious batt %. The notch is the real enemy.

 

[cyanite]

Could of done something little like add batt % number back or remove home bar but nope we get small changes that no one cares about lol

You mean that you don’t care about

Makes no sense having another music app just for one genre ?‍♂️

Classical is quite different from other, modern, genres, with a focus on the composer, sub-genres, keys and directors.

 

[Kylo83]

I swear this is the only thing you ever say on this forum.

Yes and I won’t stop until apple do it !!!!!!

 

[jonnyb098]

Does this fix the dumpster fire that safari turned into after 15.4?

 

[7thson]

Makes no sense having another music app just for one genre ?‍♂️

I can see the reasoning. I have a pretty eclectic library of music and I like to just shuffle and play sometimes. While I enjoy a melange of rock, folk, bluegrass, r&b, hip hop, ambient, etc, it’s the classical songs that really throw off a flow. Rarely do they jibe with the previous song or the next. I’ve actually considered just removing the classical from my library because of this.
Do we need another app? No, I think Apple could just give us more granular control over genres and whether they should be skipped during shuffle, but it seems unlikely that that will happen. It’s also likely my use case is not the rationale behind this separated app, I’m an outlier no doubt, but to monetize Apple Music better.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

Yes and I won’t stop until apple do it !!!!!!

 

[Corsig]

I swear this is the only thing you ever say on this forum.

Funny. When I make a comment like this about a certain someone who’s main goal is to get to 100,000 posts I get deleted and warned. Which I’m sure I will again about this one too.

 

[jagolden]

You mean that you don’t care about


Classical is quite different from other, modern, genres, with a focus on the composer, sub-genres, keys and directors.

So what you’re saying is “it’s music”.
Also, should Soundtracks have a separate app.?

 

[asopublic]

iTunes Pass... lol, I forgot that was even a thing.

I don't know why I do this, but I like book purchases, film rentals, and subscriptions to be paid via my AppleID, and have my AppleID reloaded automatically by my Apple Card. My subconscious self has decided this is best for some reasons, and my conscious self makes up the rationale that I have fewer transactions in Apple Card and still get the 3% Daily Cash. Humans are so funny!

I'm looking forward to having Apple Balance in the wallet app.