iOS 15.5 and macOS 12.4 bring updates to Podcasts, digital payments, and more

Apple released new software updates for all of its platforms on Tuesday. That includes the following:

• iOS 15.5 for iPhones and the iPod touch
• iPadOS 15.5 for iPads
• macOS 12.4 for Macs
• watchOS 8.6 for the Apple Watch
• tvOS 15.5 for the Apple TV
• HomePod Software 15.5 for HomePods
• Studio Display Firmware 15.5 for the Studio Display
• Swift Playgrounds 4.1 for iPad and Mac

These are almost certainly the last updates before the company's annual developer conference, which is scheduled to kick off on June 6. Among other things, Apple will announce iOS and iPadOS 16, macOS 13, and watchOS 9 at the conference, but those updates won't arrive until later this year.

iOS 15.5

Today's iOS update offers just enough new user-facing features to earn that 15.x label instead of 15.x.x, which is usually reserved for bug fixes and the like.

All told, though, it's a small update. The built-in Podcasts app gets "a new setting to limit episodes stored on your Mac and automatically delete older ones."

And 15.5 allows the iPhone to be used as a point-of-sale device without any additional hardware, as reported in February.

Previously, vendors like farmer's market stalls and home repair services used iPhones with attached add-on hardware from companies like Stripe to receive payments.

Now the iPhone doesn't need those attachments; Stripe works just fine with an iPhone fresh out of the box.

Additionally, iOS 15.5 brings safety features in the Messages app meant to prevent children from being exposed to inappropriate content in the following new countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• United States

macOS 12.4

On the macOS side, Apple names just two user-facing changes in its release notes. It adds support for Studio Display Firmware Update 15.5 (which claims to improve webcam performance on Apple's new monitor), and the built-in Podcasts app gets the same new feature that iOS did.

However, macOS 12.4 includes more than 50 security updates under the hood, according to Apple's support documentation.

watchOS 8.6

watchOS 8.6 is a relatively minor update. It expands some of the watch's health features—namely irregular heart rhythm detection and the ECG—to Apple Watch users in Mexico.

Other updates

Studio Display Firmware 15.5 attempts to address some user complaints about the monitor's webcam quality. Apple hasn't shared any details about what's in the HomePod firmware update or tvOS 15.5.

There's also Swift Playgrounds 4.1 for Mac and iPad. It's not an OS update, but it landed around the same time. It allows users to use Playgrounds to build apps with SwiftUI on the Mac, and it deepens App Store Connect integration for publishing apps, among other things.