What's New in iOS 14 Beta 5: Bigger Apple News Widget, Alarm Clock Wheel, Hidden Photo Album Changes and More

Apple today released the fifth developer betas of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 for testing purposes, updating and refining some of the new features that are included in the new software.

As the beta testing period goes on, changes get smaller and less notable, but we've highlighted the few new features that can be found in iOS 14 beta 5.

- Apple News Widget - The Apple News widget has a new option for a taller widget window that provides more space to display additional news stories. The size of the widget prevents it from being used on the Home Screen.

largernewswidget
- Widget Privacy - For apps that use location, there's now a popup that asks if you want to allow widgets for those apps to also use your location data. Widgets can use location data for up to 15 minutes when activated, and the Location Services Privacy settings for apps now mention widgets.

widgetprivacymaps
- Alarm Clock Wheel - When setting an alarm in the Clock app, you can now use a finger to swipe through the clock wheel to set the time rather than having to type it in. It's much smaller than the wheel in iOS 13.6, and there's still an option to type a time.

alarmclockscroller
- Exposure Notifications - The interface for Exposure Notifications has changed in iOS 14 beta 5. Tapping on "Turn on Exposure Notifications" brings up an option to choose a country, region, or state, and it will let you know if an Exposure Notification app is available for your area. This interface is different from the iOS 13.6 interface and the interface available in iOS 14 beta 4.

exposurenotificationavailability
- Hidden Photo Albums - There's a new Hidden Album setting in photos that when turned on, causes the Hidden album in Photos to be hidden from the Albums list. The Hidden album remains available in the image picker.

photoshiddenalbum
- HomeKit Control Center - HomeKit favorites in Control Center now feature smaller tiles and smarter organization that provides access to more shortcuts at a tap.

homekitwidgetorganization
- Widget Fixes - The Weather widget is fixed and updates at more appropriate intervals, and widgets are now blocked for Screen Time when a parent app is blocked.

- Battery Charge - In the Settings app under Battery, the Last Charge Level section has been tweaked a bit. Rather than displaying the last charge level over to the right of the interface, it's now displayed with the Last Charged wording to make it easier to see at a glance.

batterylastcharged
- Spatial Audio Video - In the iOS 14 beta 5 code, there's a visualization of how the spatial audio feature for the AirPods Pro works. It's not clear where this video will be shown (perhaps in setup) and though the video is available, spatial audio has not yet been enabled.


Know of any other changes in iOS 14 beta 5 that we didn't list here? Let us know in the comments and we'll add them.

Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...

Top Rated Comments

IMPOSSIBLEMAN Avatar
61 months ago
Two small but useful features that I have been waiting for from Apple for years:

1- Pinned Number row on top of the keyboard. (Faster since no need to change back and forth between numbers and letters).

2- Private Photo Album secured by Face-ID/Password to hide most sensitive photos. (Currently millions rely on 3rd party apps for a small feature that could be easily built in the default Photos apps by Apple).

Please Like if you agree.
Score: 72 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cipher29 Avatar
61 months ago

Eeeeesh.....I hope it's not this way on my BMW. I've got a widescreen display so this would look weird. Maybe it's only for square displays I wonder?
How do you know if someone has a BMW? Don't worry - they'll let you know....
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
61 months ago
Its like they listened to my feedback in regards of the silly time picker in the clock app and also that an album called hidden is useless. Now all they need to add is FaceID lock for that hidden folder.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tribeaumes Avatar
61 months ago
What they need to do is add a passcode lock option to the hidden album like they do with the Notes app.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Grigory Avatar
61 months ago

Two small but useful features that I have been waiting for from Apple for years:

1- Pinned Number row on top of the keyboard. (Faster since no need to change back and forth between numbers and letters).

2- Private Photo Album secured by Face-ID/Password to hide most sensitive photos. (Currently millions rely on 3rd party apps for a small feature that could be easily built in the default Photos apps by Apple).

Please Like if you agree.
Man you don’t actually need an extra row of numbers, you can just press numbers icon on the bottom left of the keyboard and without lifting your finger up, move it to the number you want. Very handful feature
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
61 months ago

Still that ugly red Apple Music icon.
It's a classic. brings back memories from ios 7
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)