Apple's iOS 15.2 arrives with new voice-only music plan, app privacy report

Apple has released the latest version of iOS 15, which includes the Apple Music Voice Plan the company first teased at its October event.

Apple iOS 15.2—along with iPadOS 15.2, tvOS 15.2 and watchOS 8.3—are now available for compatible devices. The standout features of iOS 15.2 include the introduction of the Apple Music Voice Plan, which drops the music subscription's cost to $5 per month but also restricts users to accessing the service with Siri, the addition of a dedicated App Privacy Report in the Settings app, and the debut of new parental control features.

Apple has also added Legacy Contacts—friends or family members of the user's choice—to Apple ID as part of its Digital Legacy program. The company says in a support article that Legacy Contacts will be able to access the deceased's "photos, messages, notes, files, apps they downloaded, device backups, and more" via the program.

9to5Mac reports that other changes debuting with iOS 15.2 include the ability to use Apple's privacy-focused Hide My Email feature with the built-in Mail app; an "enhanced city map in Apple Maps with road details like turn lanes, medians, bike lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks for supported cities" with CarPlay, and a streamlined TV app.

Apple notes that "streaming in the Music app could result in higher CPU usage, causing faster battery drain in some scenarios," and other bugs will probably be reported as the update reaches more devices. But it's generally a good idea to update as soon as possible anyway to defend against vulnerabilities found in previous versions of iOS.