iOS 13.5 Golden Master with contact tracing API is ready

Apple this week released iOS 13.5 beta 3 to developers and public beta users

Apple has completed the iOS 13.5 Golden Master (GM) and started the distribution to developers. The release for the general public should start later this week. With iOS 13.5, Apple for the first time offers the contact tracing API, which individually shared apps can access from health authorities, for example.

Apple iOS 13.5 Golden Master (GM)

The Contact Tracing API was first introduced by Apple with iOS 13.5 beta 3, after the project was announced in early April in cooperation with Google, which integrates the same functionality via the Google Play Services into Android.

The aim of contact tracing is to help identify contact persons infected with COVID-19 and to further curb the spread of the pandemic. Due to the long incubation period, it is particularly important for COVID-19 to quickly detect asymptomatic contact persons from positively tested persons in order to prevent further spread of the virus. In the case of optional (opt-in) contact tracing, only contacts with other people are recorded via the smartphone and shared with the consent of the user, it is not location tracking. The GPS position of the user or even their identity is not recorded.

Apple and Google plan to integrate into the operating systems

Key exchange via Bluetooth Low Energy
For tracing, Apple and Google rely on Bluetooth Low Energy. If two people or their smartphones are in contact with each other within the range of the Bluetooth signal, the devices exchange a key that changes every 15 minutes. If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, the received keys of the last 14 days can be loaded into the cloud with the consent of the user. The other person’s smartphone periodically downloads keys from positively diagnosed people in the cloud and informs anonymously that there was contact with a COVID-19 infected person and what to do next.

Apple itself is only involved in the process at least at the current time in that the API was used to create the technical basis for this within iOS. The app, which accesses the API and triggers the evaluation of the data and warning messages when there are appropriate contacts, would come from a health authority, for example. Access to the API is manually activated by Apple in individual cases; it is not freely available for app developers. It is only possible to record a contact log if an authorized app has been installed. So far, no app is available for using the API.

Contact tracing API in iOS 13.5

In a second step, Apple and Google want to integrate support for contact tracing directly into the operating systems. This is more robust than the programming interface now published and enables the voluntary participation of far more individuals. According to Apple, this approach also supports collaboration in a broader ecosystem of apps and health authorities.

Mask recognition for Face ID

iOS 13.5 also introduces functions that were already known from the last beta versions. This includes the mask recognition for Face ID, which now changes more quickly to manual unlocking via PIN or password when swiping a mask after swiping from bottom to top on the lock screen. This also works for Apple Pay, in the App Store or for other applications that use Face ID. For FaceTime there is now the option to deactivate the automatic enlargement of the speaker's tile in group chats. Only in the USA can health data be automatically transferred to the emergency service when an emergency call is made.

Apple also fixes minor bugs with the update, including a potentially black screen when streaming certain websites and a bug on the share screen, which some users could not load recommendations and options. On an iPhone 11 Pro Max, the update to iOS 13.5 measures 4.16 GB.