News: Apple's iOS 13.5 Developer Beta 3 Update Includes COVID-19 Exposure Notifications & Face ID Improvements

Apple released the third developer beta for iOS 13.5 today, Wednesday, April 29. If you're confused where 13.5 betas 1 and 2 are, join the club. This appears to be, for all intents and purposes, iOS 13.4.5 developer beta 3, following 13.4.5 developer betas 1 and 2. The biggest change? The addition of Apple's joint COVID contact-tracing program with Google, which likely inspired the name change.

13.5 dev beta 3 comes two weeks after the release of 13.4.5 dev beta 2, and 12 days after the release of the first 13.4.5 public beta. Apple seeded developers the update at 10 a.m. PDT. You might know that release time is Apple's go-to for new beta releases if you've seen enough updates. However, if you're a public beta tester, you won't see this update hit your iPhone. You'll need to wait for 13.5 public beta 2, which we expect to see either 1 p.m PDT today or 10 a.m. PDT tomorrow.

• Update: Apple's iOS 13.5 Release Includes COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, Face ID Update & New FaceTime Option

Apple has added the API for the contact-tracing and exposure notification program to this update, allowing verified health authorities to develop apps that take advantage of these tools to make contact tracing to work in the world. You'll find this option in Settings –> Privacy –> Health –> COVID-19 Exposure Notifications. These notifications are enabled by default.

Also new to 13.5 dev beta 3 is a tweak that makes accessing the passcode screen faster after an unsuccessful Face ID scan. This change is helpful as so many of us now wear masks when using our iPhones. Instead of a delay after an unsuccessful scan, 13.5 skips right to the passcode screen.

iOS & iPadOS 13.5 Beta 3 Release Notes

Overview

The iOS & iPadOS 13.5 SDK provides support to develop apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS & iPadOS 13.5. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 11.4, available from the Mac App Store. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 11.4, see Xcode 11.4 Release Notes.

Music - New Features

• A new option is available to share songs, albums, and playlists to Facebook and Instagram Stories. (60895397)

To update your iPhone to iOS 13.5 dev beta 3, you'll need to be a registered developer. You can use the restore image for your iPhone available in the Developer portal (install with iTunes or Finder) or install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile installed on your iPhone, head over to Settings –> General –> Software Update to start installing the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.