Apple Releases iOS 13.6.1 for iPhone, Adds Bug Fixes for Exposure Notifications, Thermal Management & Automated Storage

Apple just released iOS 13.6.1 for iPhone today, Wednesday, Aug. 12. The update is the latest public update for iPhones since iOS 13.6, which Apple released 28 days ago.

Apple released this update just past 1 p.m. PDT. We anticipated Apple would release iOS 13.6.1 at 10 a.m. PDT, the company's usual release time for software updates, but the company has become somewhat unpredictable with software updates.

What do we expect to see from 13.6.1? According to Google, Google Maps is coming to CarPlay Dashboard. CarPlay Dashboard allows you to use two apps at once in one display, so this new update allows you to use Google Maps while simultaneously managing music playback.

It isn't clear at this time, however, if this feature is in fact a part of 13.6.1. Google Maps did release an iOS update the same day, but neither that update nor 13.6.1 mention the feature in their release notes.

According to 13.6.1's release notes, the update adds three bug fixes for iPhones:

Addresses an issue where unneeded system data files might not be automatically deleted when available storage is low

Fixes a thermal management issue that caused some displays to exhibit a green tint

Fixes an issue where Exposure Notifications could be disabled for some users

Any iPhone that can run iOS 13 is eligible to update to 13.6.1. That includes the following:

iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd Gen)
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone SE (1st Gen)

To download iOS 13.6.1, just open Settings on your iPhone, then head to General -> Software Update. From here, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the new update. If you have "Automatic Updates" enabled, you can simply let your iPhone update to 13.6.1 overnight.