Apple on Tuesday seeded the first betas of iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 to developers. The beta release comes just one day following the release of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 to the public.
Beta builds of iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 are available to developers through the Apple Developer Center or over the air on the devices with the proper configuration installed.
As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any betas on their daily driver iPhone or iPad. Instead, only install betas on a device set aside for testing purposes. This is especially true when it’s an early beta of a new operating system.
The new betas of iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1 also released today) reintroduce SharePlay, the feature that Apple pulled from the iOS 15.0 updates because it was not yet ready to be released.
SharePlay is a FaceTime feature that allows users to watch movies and listen to music with their friends and family on FaceTime calls, the feature includes a screen sharing feature.
The iOS 15.1 beta also allows iPhone users to upload their COVID-19 vaccination status to the Health app to generate a vaccination card in Apple Wallet. The vaccination card can then be shown to businesses, venues, restaurants, and more that are requiring vaccines for entry.
As mentioned in an announcement to developers, verifiable health records are based on the SMART Health Cards specification.
California, Louisiana, New York, Virginia, Hawaii, and some Maryland counties support Smart Health Cards, as do Walmart, Sam’s Club, and CVS Health.