Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, gives a keynote speech during the European Union’s data protection conference at the EU Parliament on October 24, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium.
Yves Herman | Reuters
The next major update for the iPhone operating system, iOS 14.5, will be released “next week,” Apple said on Tuesday.
The detail was included in new product announcements Apple made on Tuesday. iOS 14.5 has a lot of new features, but the one that’s most closely watched is called ATT, or App Tracking Transparency.
When iPhone users install iOS 14.5, they will be presented with a pop-up window when apps try to track them using a device ID called Identifier for Advertisers. Companies that rely on online advertising, especially Facebook, have stated that the privacy change will reduce the effectiveness and profitability of targeted ads and potentially affect the online advertising business.
Apple has also announced that it is ready to remove apps that do not comply with the new policy.
iOS 14.5 also has other new features, including a redesigned vaccine emoji, a feature that lets you quickly unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask, and new voices for Siri.
Apple usually releases important software updates on Tuesdays. The software is preinstalled on a new purple iPhone that goes on sale on April 30th.
