Paul Morris on May 18, 2020, 11:22 pm

Download: iOS 13.5 GM IPSW Links, OTA Update Released Along With iPadOS 13.5 GM

You can now download iOS 13.5 GM IPSW links and OTA update as well as the accompanying iPadOS 13.5 GM if you have a compatible iPad.

Both of these latest Apple pre-release firmware releases are available with immediate effect. As always, here are all the details to keep you abreast of what’s going on with iOS and iPadOS.

As previously mentioned with earlier pre-release seeds of iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5, likely one of the biggest changes and additions is Apple’s brand new exposure notification API that is a combined engineering effort by Apple and Google in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These APIs provide access for health organizations to build and deploy contact tracing solutions in the hope of tracking and slowing the virus on a global scale.

Apple is also using iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5 to make some changes to make it easier for mask wearers to unlock their devices. Face ID has always been a popular addition to iPhone and iPad but with more and more people wearing medical and protective masks, Apple has reacted to make things easier with passcode unlocking. This change means that the passcode entry system is exposed a lot quicker when Face ID detects that the user is wearing a facial mask.

In addition to those two relatively large changes, Apple has tweaked the Group FaceTime experience and made a slew of bug fixes and enhancements under-the-hood to improve the overall experience offered on iPhone and iPad.

If you are interested from a development perspective, or are just an eager iPhone or iPad owner and want to try out GM seed of iOS 13.5, iPadOS 13.5, or both, then head over to Settings > General > Software Update and grab the over-the-air (OTA) update from there if you have the correct Configuration Profile for beta updates installed.

Alternatively, you can also download iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5 GM as an IPSW file by heading over to developer.apple.com and signing in with approved credentials that have access to pre-release downloads. As always, if you notice anything untoward with either iOS 13.5 GM or iPadOS 13.5 GM, then make sure to report those issues directly to Apple to allow the company’s engineers to fix ahead of a public release.