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Release record

iOS 15.0

Full article
Public release
Recorded milestones
12
Beta cycle
105d
Average interval
11d
Public release
Sep 20, 2021

Release notes

Overview

Editorial synthesis with inline references and a source ledger when citations are available.

Release overview

iOS 15.0 was publicly released on September 20, 2021. iOS 15.0 was the annual platform release, combining major communication and attention-management changes with redesigns across Maps, Safari, Wallet, Weather, and other built-in apps.[1][2]

FaceTime links, Focus, notification summaries, Live Text, and broader on-device intelligence formed the core public feature set. Availability varied by device, language, and region.[1][2]

Source ledger

References

Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.

  1. About the security content of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15

    Apple Support · Apple · 2023-11-03T00:00:00.000Z · iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 — Released September 20, 2021

    Back to text ↑
  2. About iOS 15 Updates

    Apple Support · Apple · 2026-05-28T00:00:00.000Z · iOS 15

    Back to text ↑

Documented & observed

Changes in this version

Source-linked features, fixes, known issues, removals, and community-observed behavior recorded across this version’s appearances and verified builds.

Release changes

Changed in this release

Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.

behavior · changed

Locale-aware Accept-Language fallback

documentedconfirmed

The default request language header was corrected for multiple locales and could now contain both the preferred and system languages.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Networking — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 38772422

developerApi · introduced

Value-focused formatting APIs

documentedconfirmed

The new approach reduces the need to construct and cache separate formatter instances for common value types.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Foundation — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 70220307

compatibility · changed

UIKit key-command priority

documentedconfirmed

Apps with keyboard shortcuts must opt in when a command should override typing, editing, or focus-navigation keystrokes.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · UIKit — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 55118263

developerApi · introduced

Automatic grammar agreement

documentedconfirmed

Localization code can delegate selected grammatical agreement to the system instead of maintaining every inflected string variant.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Foundation — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 70210115

developerApi · introduced

Audio Unit custom views

documentedconfirmed

Hosts can discover and present an Audio Unit's own interface and coordinate its tint with the surrounding application.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Audio Units — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 74183251

developerApi · introduced

SKAdNetwork winning-postback copy

documentedconfirmed

The attribution flow can send the successful postback to the advertised app's developer as well as its existing destination.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · SKAdNetwork — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 75054513

developerApi · introduced

Asynchronous notification sequences

documentedconfirmed

Notification observers could consume system notifications through Swift concurrency rather than only callback-based delivery.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Swift — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 74401384

developerApi · introduced

Swift performance signposting

documentedconfirmed

Developers gained a lower-overhead Swift interface for emitting points, beginning and ending intervals, and surrounding work with measured spans.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Logging — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 54756831

developerApi · introduced

StoreKit 2 transaction APIs

documentedconfirmed

The first beta documents a modern StoreKit path for loading products, making purchases, managing entitlements, and receiving signed transaction information.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · App Store — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 66587964

developerApi · introduced

Create ML on iPhone and iPad

documentedconfirmed

The initial SDK state brings image, sound, text, hand-pose, hand-action, and tabular training tasks onto iPhone and iPad.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Create ML — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 37087332

compatibility · changed

Off-main-thread SwiftUI animations

documentedconfirmed

Developers need to audit custom geometry, shape, and animation closures because selected animation evaluation can occur off the main thread.

Recorded at Beta 1

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · SwiftUI — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta; 70524799

bugFix · fixed

Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum in third-party apps

documentedconfirmed

Beta 2 restores selection of Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum where the earlier seed could hide those choices.

Recorded at Beta 2

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta 2 Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Third-Party Apps — Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta 2; 78534920

bugFix · fixed

Health Sharing setup and delivery

documentedconfirmed

The iOS-only Health surface gained fixes for invitation delivery, setup errors, delayed stop-sharing, missing data, and people with matching first names.

Recorded at Beta 2

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta 2 Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Health — Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta 2; 74996608, 77030574, 78508260, 77943795, 78007265, and 78520265

bugFix · fixed

CarPlay route controls and announcements

documentedconfirmed

Beta 2 restores missing route buttons and corrects announcement-related Siri and banner behavior in supported vehicles.

Recorded at Beta 2

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta 2 Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · CarPlay — Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta 2; 78223409, 78412579, and 78118849

developerApi · introduced

StoreKit verification details

documentedconfirmed

The Beta 6 API surface exposes why a value failed verification and makes its signed or decoded payload easier to inspect.

Recorded at Beta 6

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta 6 Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · App Store — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta 6; 80701792

feature · changed

Safari bottom tab bar and address-bar choice

documentedconfirmed

The Beta 6 heading records a substantial iPhone browser-interface revision and a user-selectable alternative layout.

Recorded at Beta 6

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta 6 Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · Safari — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta 6; 81118141

behavior · changed

iCloud Private Relay public-beta posture

documentedconfirmed

The Beta 7 heading explicitly records the service's prerelease availability posture rather than a completed launch.

Recorded at Beta 7

  1. [1] iOS & iPadOS 15 Beta 8 Release Notes (preserved snapshot) · iCloud — New Features in iOS & iPadOS 15 beta 7; 82150385

feature · introduced

Maps redesign and Live Text

documentedconfirmed

The release paired expanded Maps detail and transit tools with system recognition of text in images.

Recorded at Public

  1. [1] About iOS 15 Updates · iOS 15 — Maps and Live Text

feature · introduced

Focus and notification summary

documentedconfirmed

iOS 15 introduced Focus profiles, status sharing, redesigned notifications, and scheduled delivery summaries.

Recorded at Public

  1. [1] About iOS 15 Updates · iOS 15 — Focus and Notifications

enhancement · changed

Safari and Shared with You

documentedconfirmed

Safari added Tab Groups and extensions, while supported Apple apps collected shared links, photos, music, and other content.

Recorded at Public

  1. [1] About iOS 15 Updates · iOS 15 — Safari and Shared with You

feature · introduced

FaceTime links and expanded calls

documentedconfirmed

The public release expanded FaceTime calling and allowed people on Android or Windows to join supported calls in a browser.

Recorded at Public

  1. [1] About iOS 15 Updates · iOS 15 — FaceTime

Milestones

Release history

Every recorded channel appearance in chronological order. Open an appearance for any available build, scope, notes, and sources.

  1. Developer beta

    Beta 1

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 1 is represented by 16 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 146-record initial state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    21 linked
    Open this appearance
  2. +17 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 2

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 2 is represented by 15 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 195-record Beta 2 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    22 linked
    Open this appearance
  3. +6 days
  4. +0 days
  5. +14 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 3

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 3 is represented by 15 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 238-record Beta 4 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    22 linked
    Open this appearance
  6. +13 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 4

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 4 is represented by 13 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 238-record August 4 Beta 4 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    20 linked
    Open this appearance
  7. +14 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 5

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 5 is represented by 6 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 242-record Beta 6 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    13 linked
    Open this appearance
  8. +7 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 6

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 6 is represented by 5 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 242-record Beta 6 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    12 linked
    Open this appearance
  9. +8 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 7

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 7 is represented by 6 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 250-record Beta 8 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    13 linked
    Open this appearance
  10. +6 days

    Developer beta

    Beta 8

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15 Beta 8 is represented by 2 source-supported changes selected from Apple's preserved 250-record Beta 8 state; no build number, generic cumulative issue, or unsupported milestone payload is inferred.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    9 linked
    Open this appearance
  11. +14 days
  12. +6 days

    Public release

    Public

    Full articleEditorially verified

    iOS 15.0 reached the public release channel on September 20, 2021. iOS 15.0 was the annual platform release, combining major communication and attention-management changes with redesigns across Maps, Safari, Wallet, Weather, and other built-in apps. This article records the public appearance only and does not attribute cumulative notes to an earlier beta.

    Availability
    available
    Sources
    7 linked
    Open this appearance

Historical context

Cycle comparison

Pace, intervals, and duration compared with earlier releases on the same platform.

Historical avg for major releases

101 days, 9.9 milestones

Based on 17 previous iOS .0 releases

Cycle vs. platform average

105d (avg: 57d)

48 days longer than the iOS average

Duration ranking

#8 of 92

Middle of the pack iOS beta cycles

Longest gap in this cycle

17 days

Between Beta 1 and Beta 2

Previous .0 releases (iOS)

Previous comparable iOS releases
VersionYearCycleMilestonesAvg. Interval
iOS 26.0202598d158d
iOS 18.0202498d129d
iOS 17.02023105d139d
iOS 16.0202298d1210d
iOS 14.0202086d1010d
iOS 13.02019108d1111d

Scroll horizontally to compare every historical field.

Official release notes