Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Apple’s iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 bring SharePlay, camera improvements, and more

By

Apple is rolling out iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, its third update to the current generation of iOS since it rolled out alongside the iPhone 13. The iOS 15.1 update brings SharePlay, which lets multiple Apple users enjoy movies, music, and other content together during FaceTime calls; ProRes video recording on the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max, among other improvements to the camera; and some additions to the Home, Shortcuts, Translate, and Wallet apps.

Among the slew of new features that iOS 15.1 delivers, SharePlay is bound to get most of the attention. As its name indicates, SharePlay offers multiple shared experiences using FaceTime, from browsing the web together to watching synchronized movies or TV shows to sharing content across the Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple TV, and other App Store apps. It also gives each user the ability to play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward movies, shows, or music and automatically lowers the volume of the content when it detects someone speaking.

Apple Music and the FaceTime preferences pane being used during a SharePlay session on a Mac running MacOS Monterey.

Besides SharePlay, iOS 15.1 brings ProRes video recording to the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The video feature minimizes compression while recording a video to capture moire details, ensuring the highest-quality video for editing and post-processing. The update also adds a button to disable automatic switching to the macro mode, giving users more control over how to use the cameras. That was one of our big complaints in our review of the iPhone 13, so it’s nice to see.

Recommended Videos

You will now also be able to add your COVID-19 vaccination card to the Apple Wallet app. Additions to the Home app now let users automate different actions based on Homekit-based air quality, humidity, or ambient light sensors. You also get some new games to play with Siri, while the Translate app gets systemwide support for Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan). As with each update, iOS 15.1 also brings several bug fixes.

Related

The iOS 15.1 update is now rolling out to supported devices globally, and you should be able to download it right away by heading over to the Settings app and clicking General > Software Update.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Tushar Mehta
Tushar Mehta
Tushar has a passion for consumer tech and likes to tinker with smartphones, laptops, wearables, smart home devices, and…
I really hope this iPhone 15 Pro price leak isn’t true
Render of the iPhone 15 Pro in red.

We’re just a few months away from Apple revealing the next-generation iPhone 15 lineup in the fall. However, a new report from Chinese outlet Economic Daily News suggests that the entire lineup could see a price increase of 10% to 20%.

This isn’t great news. For the standard iPhone 15, that means it could start at $899, which is $100 more than the starting price for the current $799 iPhone 14. Currently, the iPhone 14 Pro starts at $999, but with this price increase for the next generation, the iPhone 15 Pro could be $100 to $200 more — starting at $1,100 or $1,200.

Read more
11 features in iOS 17 that I can’t wait to use on my iPhone
ios 17 11 features i cant wait to use on my iphone mashup

Apple made a big splash at WWDC 2023 this year as it introduced the first major new product since the Apple Watch with the Vision Pro spatial computing headset. But of course, we also got software announcements for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS 14 Sonoma.

Though I feel that iOS 17 is an overall underwhelming update compared to the past few years with iOS 14 and iOS 16, there’s still a lot of interesting stuff coming. The developer beta is out now, and people have been diving into all that iOS 17 has to offer so far. And you know what? There’s plenty to talk about — including a few things Apple didn't even mention during the keynote.

Read more
Apple finally fixed my biggest problem with the iPhone 14 Pro Max
apple fixed my biggest problem with iphone 14 pro max 1443

Good battery life is a well-known trait of the iPhone. As a battery-anxious person, it's one of the reasons why I shifted to iOS. The iPhone 13 Pro Max took it to the next level with excellent battery optimization that would see the phone last me an entire day with ease – no matter how heavy the usage. The same didn’t happen when I shifted to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. And it was primarily due to iOS 16. The initial versions, up until iOS 16.4, were buggy and bad with battery optimization.

I was about to move back to Android, but iOS 16.5 has me hooked. The update is one of the best in the recent past from Apple. While I’ve been testing iOS 17 for the past week on another iPhone, I installed iOS 16.5 in late May on my primary phone – the iPhone 14 Pro Max — and I’m extremely happy with what Apple has done with this version.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max's battery problem has finally been fixed
The chart shows 50% battery left after using the iPhone 14 Pro Max for 5 hours and 43 minutes. Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

Read more