Latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 Betas Allow System Update Installations With Just 500 MB of Available Storage

The latest beta versions of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 are out now. As 9to5 Mac spotted, they allow system updates to be installed with under 500 MB of storage available.

In the release notes for the latest build of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, which can be found on the Apple Developer website, the company says that today’s updates fix an issue that could prevent users from installing system updates with low available storage on the device. Here’s what Apple says: “Software Update: Resolved in watchOS 8/iOS 15 beta 3: You can now update your device using Software Update if less than 500 MB of storage is available. (78474912)” There aren’t many details about what has been changed or how this will work since some updates actually come in large files, but the release notes claim that system updates can now be installed on the iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch even when “less than 500 MB of storage is available.”

Users Not Excited by iOS 15, iPadOS 15 Features

Users appear to be somewhat underwhelmed with the iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 features announced at WWDC 2021. The results of a survey by SellCell, reported by MacRumors, revealed that nearly half were not excited.

Over 50 percent of all of the survey’s respondents said that the ‌iOS 15‌ and ‌iPadOS 15‌ updates are only “slightly” or “not at all” exciting. 28.1 percent rated the updates “somewhat” exciting, but as few as 19.3 percent are “extremely” or “very” excited about them. Within ‌iOS 15‌ and ‌iPadOS 15‌, 23 percent of users said that the most exciting upgrade is ID cards in the Wallet app, 17.3 percent are most excited about enhanced Spotlight search, and 14.2 percent are most excited about new Find My features.

22 New Actions Coming to Shortcuts in iOS 15

Matthew Cassinelli shared a post on his website sharing 22 new actions coming to shortcuts for iOS | iPadOS 15, and 21 Mac-only actions. The full post requires a subscription but he shared an image with details.

With the release of iOS 15 and the associated betas across Apple’s platforms, the Shortcuts app has received 2 automation types and 22 new actions that work across iPhone, iPad, and macOS as well as 21 Mac-only actions.

I think I’m most looking forward to Get Folder Contents, Rename File, Overlay Text, Extract Text From Image, and probably Get File From Folder.

Should You Digitize Your ID With iOS 15?

One of the updates to Apple Wallet in iOS 15 is letting people scan their driver’s license. But is that a good thing?

One major question is how Apple users and law enforcement like TSA agents will actually interact with these digital IDs. If your driver’s license is on your phone, you could potentially have to present your fully unlocked device to a law enforcement agent in a transaction like a traffic stop or at airport security. That could, in turn, expose you to incidental search of your data, social media accounts, or anything else the agent flicks to.