iOS 15.2: Apple updates iPhone with a range of new and controversial features

Apple has released iOS 15.2, adding a host of new features to the iPhone.

While some updates to the iPhone operating system bring only minor updates, the new features brings some of the more significant – and controversial – additions that have been held back since iOS 15 was released earlier this year.

The new update is available to download like any other, found through the “Software Update” options in the Settings app.

That includes new “communication safety” settings which let the phone scan through images that are sent to children’s phones and give them warnings if those photos appear to include nudity.

That feature has been scaled back since it was first announced in the summer, when it was met by vociferous criticism. Apple announced soon after that it would stop the feature alerting parents about those nude images – and indefinitely delayed another part of the project, which would scan through images included in a users’ photo library.

Apple is also adding the third and final part of that attempt to address the problem of child sexual abuse material. That is new guidance when people use Siri or other search tools to look for potentially unsafe information, when they will be directed to Apple’s own information.

Also included in the new update is the full version of App Privacy Report, which adds an option in settings to see which apps have looked at a users “location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more” over the previous week, as well as their network activity. That could also prove controversial, given the outcry that Apple’s privacy-focused features have been met with from other companies such as Facebook.

The update also includes other less controversial features, such as the rollout of the Apple Music Voice Plan. That gives people the option to pay less for their membership of the streaming music service – if they only use it through Siri, and control songs with their voice.

It also includes the introduction of Apple’s new “Digital Legacy” tools, aimed at controlling what happens to personal information if an account’s owner dies. People can choose “Legacy Contacts” who will be able to access an iCloud account and other data in the event of their death.

Many of those features were announced in the summer, when Apple revealed iOS 15 at its WWDC event. But they did not arrive with the release of that update in September, along with other promised features – some of which, such as the “Universal Control” tool that allows iPads and Macs to be controlled together, are still yet to be released.

Other smaller updates bring slight changes to the way the Camera, TV app and CarPlay features work. An improvement to Find My also means that iPhones can be found for five hours after their battery dies, if they are running in “Power Reserve” mode.

The update comes alongside new versions of watchOS and tvOS, though most of the new features are confined to the iPhone.