Apple has launched iOS 12.5.1 for older iPhones and iPads right this moment, roughly one month after the discharge of iOS 12.5. The replace contains bug fixes for the COVID-19 publicity notification characteristic.
Apple rolled out iOS 12.5 to older iPhones and iPads final month, bringing assist for COVID-19 publicity notifications. This was a serious change because it expands contact tracing to iPhones that don’t assist iOS 14, together with units just like the massively well-liked iPhone 6 sequence.
Within the launch notes for the replace, Apple merely says: “This replace fixes a difficulty the place Publicity Notifications might incorrectly show logging profile language.”
iOS 12.5.1 is accessible for the next units:
- iPad Air
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPod contact sixth gen
How do COVID-19 publicity notifications work?
When a consumer allows the characteristic, the gadget will often ship out a beacon through Bluetooth that features a random Bluetooth identifier. When two persons are close to one another, their telephones will trade and file these Bluetooth identifiers.
If somebody checks constructive for COVID-19, they’ll voluntarily report the constructive check to the Publicity Notification utility for his or her area. The Publicity Notification API may also likewise obtain an inventory of the keys for the beacons which have been verified as belonging to individuals confirmed constructive for COVID-19, and test in opposition to that listing. If there’s a match, the consumer could also be notified and suggested on the subsequent steps.
Privateness is a tentpole of the Publicity Notification API. Maybe the largest privateness safety in Apple and Google’s Publicity Notification API is that location information performs no half in the way it works. The 2 firms say that these purposes ought to gather as little information as doable, and placement information will not be wanted for this Bluetooth-based strategy.
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