Apple released a new version of its iOS software yesterday, and it’s a big update that shows the company adjusting to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The most notable change applies to newer iOS devices that use Face ID as their unlocking mechanism. But by setting your iPhone up for exposure logging you can be ready for when the apps arrive. Here’s how to update iOS on an iPhone, and how to update iPadOS on an iPad. The update also introduces the Exposure Notification API to support Covid-19 contact tracing apps from public health authorities. There won’t be any changes, unless you have installed an app that uses the API. Our technology is created to make these apps work better.
In addition to being contacted anonymously, the Exposure Notifications API uses Bluetooth Low Energy, not WiFi or other, more potentially identifiable means. The goal of these contact-tracing apps is to notify people when they may have been in contact with an infected person. Once again, just to clarify, Face ID is available on select few iPhones, starting with the iPhone X. To ensure user privacy, Apple and Google state that temporary exposure keys are generated randomly instead of being derived from a tracing key. Now, Face ID recognizes when someone is wearing a mask – as it has become an essential item – and immediately switches over to the passcode screen, speeding up the unlock process significantly.
Also works when authenticating with the App Store, Apple Books, Apple Pay, iTunes, and other apps that support signing in with Face ID. This framework will allow governments and public health agencies to develop apps that alert you if you’ve come into contact with someone who later tests positive for Covid-19 and that person anonymously logs their positive result into a database. It also includes the option to control the expanding video tiles when you’re in a Group FaceTime call. Now that payment deadlines have been relaxed due to COVID-19, the Moneycontrol Ready Reckoner will help keep your date with insurance premiums, tax-saving investments and EMIs, among others.
