iOS 14.6 has landed on your iPhone, and there are big new features

iPhone 12 mini
(Image credit: TechRadar)

Almost exactly a month after iOS 14.5 rolled out to iPhones, iOS 14.6 is now available to download for all compatible devices (meaning the iPhone 6S and newer). While this isn’t a huge update, it does include some significant new features.

The biggest is perhaps Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, which allows you to access paid subscriptions for specific podcasts, unlocking things like ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to content.

A range of companies have already launched a subscription service, including NPR, the Los Angeles Times, Tenderfoot TV, Sony Music Entertainment, and you can expect additional companies to launch subscription services over time.

Share your card and find your valuables

Another big new feature is Apple Card Family, which allows two people to share an Apple Card, and also allows parents to share their Apple Card with their children, complete with spending limits and parental controls. At the time of writing this feature is only available in the US.

In terms of smaller features, the Lost Mode option in the Find My app now lets you leave a phone number (rather than just an email address) that you can be contacted on if someone finds your missing item, and Voice Control users can unlock their iPhone after a restart using just their voice.

iOS 14.6 also paves the way for lossless audio from Apple Music; however this feature isn’t being switched on until sometime in June.

Less excitingly but perhaps most importantly, iOS 14.6 also includes fixes for 43 security vulnerabilities, so it’s worth downloading immediately even if you're not excited about the new features.

You should be prompted to download the update, but if not you can find it through Settings > General > Software update, or head to our guide for full instructions.

It’s worth noting that iOS 14.6 hasn’t landed alone either. iPadOS 14.6, with a similar selection of features, is also now available, along with watchOS 7.5, tvOS 14.6, macOS 11.4, and HomePod OS 14.6.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.