Apple Releases iOS 14.5 Public Beta 5 for iPhone

Earlier this month, the rumor mill suggested that Apple was gearing up for a Mar. 23 event, with a possible release of iOS 14.5 to boot. That event, as we can now see, never came to be. It seems Apple is also not quite ready to unveil iOS 14.5, either, as we now have a fifth beta to test on our iPhones.

Apple released the fifth iOS 14.5 public beta today, Tuesday, Mar. 23. The update comes three hours after the fifth 14.5 developer beta, and eight days after the beta 4 release for public testers and developers. Apple released this update at 1 p.m. PDT.

Because the developer beta was out for three hours before the public beta, we had a chance to dive in and check out what was new. In short, not much. In fact, the release notes say exactly as much (see below). That's not too disappointing, since iOS 14.5 in general introduces at least 43 new features and changes.

iOS & iPadOS 14.5 Beta 5 Release Notes
Overview
The iOS & iPadOS 14.5 SDK provides support to develop apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS & iPadOS 14.5 beta 5. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 12.5 beta 3, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12.5, see Xcode 12.5 Beta 3 Release Notes.

General
There are no new release notes for this beta software update.

It's clear Apple is getting closer to 14.5's official release. We expect Apple to seed the 14.5 RC (release candidate) soon, rather than a 14.5 beta 6. The RC is the "final" version of an iOS update, sent out early to developers and public beta testers to check for any lasting issues. If so, Apple will tweak and release an RC 2. Otherwise, the RC goes out to the public as the official release.

How to Download & Install the Latest iOS 14.5 Update

To update your iPhone to iOS 14.5 public beta 5, sign up through Apple's beta site, download and install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update to begin the installation of the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.