iPhone iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7 released: MagSafe Battery Pack and Apple Card Family updates

By Chris Davies/July 19, 2021 12:29 pm EST

Apple has released iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7, the latest versions of its software for iPhone and iPad, complete with MagSafe Battery Pack support and Apple Card Family credit limit combination. The new update also adds new features to HomePod, in addition to fixes around Dolby Atmos playback from Apple Music.

Quietly launched last week, the MagSafe Battery Pack is Apple's official rechargeable battery for the iPhone 12 series. Tapping into the MagSafe magnetic accessory platform that the iPhone 12 launched, it clings to the back of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, and adds a top-up of charge.

It's not the biggest portable battery in the world, certainly, but if you've been bemoaning your iPhone 12 mini running out of charge too rapidly, the $99 accessory could be enough. With iOS 14.7, Apple adds features like a dedicated battery gauge for the MagSafe Battery Pack in the iOS control center – just as it already offers for the Apple Watch and AirPods, if connected – and the ability to do reverse wireless charging. If the battery add-on is in place, you can plug the iPhone in via Lightning and it will recharge the MagSafe Battery Pack via Qi, too.

iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7 also launch new Apple Card Family features. You're now able to combine the credit limits of multiple people in the same family, but who until now have had individual Apple Card accounts. That way purchases made by, say, couples can contribute to a shared credit score.

The Home app is being updated to add support for managing timers on HomePod, while in the Weather and Maps apps there's now new air quality information data. That's already been present in the US, but is now being added for Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, South Korea, and Spain. In Podcasts, the library can now be set to show all shows, or only followed shows.

As you'd expect, there are also some bug fixes in iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7. For example, in Apple Music, the share playlist menu option – which had disappeared for some users – is now restored. Dolby Atmos lossless audio playback in Apple Music has also been fixed, after some listeners reported that it would cut out unexpectedly at times.

For those with an iPhone 11 specifically, the battery service message which Apple says could have disappeared after the phone was rebooted has now been restored. Meanwhile, Braille displays – that "could show invalid information while composing Mail messages," Apple says – have also been fixed.

If you've got an iPhone or iPad that's eligible for iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7, you should see a prompt to install the new software over the next couple of days. Alternatively, you can install it manually by heading to Settings > General > Software Update.