Everything New in iOS 15.1 Beta 1 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Everything New in iOS 15.1 Beta 1

Just a day after releasing the iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 updates, Apple has already seeded the first betas of iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1. The new updates reintroduce features like SharePlay, and below, we have a list of what's new.

iOS 15

SharePlay

SharePlay is enabled in the iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1 betas to allow Apple to further work out bugs to get the feature ready to launch. Apple decided to pull SharePlay from the iOS 15 launch because it was not properly functioning and was still riddled with issues.

ios15 shareplay
Available in FaceTime, SharePlay is designed to let users call up their friends and family and then watch TV, watch movies, and listen to music together using neat features like shared playlists and TV show syncing for all users. SharePlay also allows for screen sharing.

If testing goes well, SharePlay could see an official launch in iOS 15.1.

Announce Calls

In the Settings for the Phone app, there's a new icon for the "Announce Calls" setting.

new announce calls icon ios 15

Lossless Audio for HomePod

The HomePod 15.1 beta that accompanies the iOS 15.1 beta adds Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio support to the HomePod and HomePod mini.

Vaccine Cards in Wallet

In iOS 15, verifiable health records can be downloaded and stored in the Health app, and this includes COVID-19 vaccination records and health results. In iOS 15.1, vaccination records are able to be added to the Wallet app so a vaccine card can be provided to businesses, restaurants, venues, and more where vaccines are required for entry.

See our previous article for more details and discussion. Discussion should be limited to the iOS 15 update and political comments will be immediately removed.

Other Features

Know of a feature that we left out? Let us know in the comments.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
macbook neo launch day

Apple May Drop Base $599 MacBook Neo as Chip, DRAM Costs Climb

Thursday May 7, 2026 4:55 am PDT by
Apple is considering dropping the cheapest MacBook Neo configuration as one possible response to the rising cost of building the popular laptop, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan. The Neo currently starts at $599 for a 256GB model, with a 512GB version at $699. Writing in his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan says cutting the entry-level...

Top Rated Comments

arn Avatar
61 months ago
Please direct any vaccine card in wallet discussion to the previous article: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/09/21/ios-15-vaccine-card-wallet-app/

Political discussion is not allowed.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
61 months ago
Apple hard at work. I love it. :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zachari Avatar
61 months ago
Everything that should have been in iOS 15.0. Nice.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b11051973 Avatar
61 months ago
I've said this before. Very much look forward to Shareplay. Will really help providing technical support to my parents. I had to help my mom reset her Facebook password a couple weeks ago. That was torture. One of the most frustrating experiences of my life.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
61 months ago
No fixes for the Shortcuts app? It is super buggy. I’m surprised that Apple released it in the current state.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
61 months ago
SharePlay is cool and would have been really useful like a year ago.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Iphone | World News | South Africa | Travel | Politics