iOS 13.6 adds symptoms to Health, unattended iOS update download toggle

Two major changes to iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 include a new Settings toggle to allow the device to automatically download an iOS or iPadOS software update, and a big addition of symptoms to the Health app.

Apple has long allowed iPhone and iPad users to automatically install software updates overnight and this new feature builds on that. Users no longer need to manually download updates and your device will still alert you prior to any updates being installed.

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A new message that reads "iPhone will automatically download updates over Wi-Fi" is placed under the new toggle placed below the Automatic header inside of the Software Update panel.

To enable automatic iOS update downloads:

Head to Settings
Go to General > Software Update > Customize Automatic Updates
Enable the "Download iOS Updates" toggle

Another change in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 is a new "symptoms" category within the Health app. It allows users to add symptoms such as coughing, headaches, body aches, and much more. Each of those symptoms has additional data points for severity. Third-party apps will be able to tie into these as well like other health metrics.

At the moment, these are still a beta so this feature may change or be removed by the time Apple releases iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6.

Apple just released iOS and iPadOS 13.5.1 to the public to patch a security flaw exploited by the Unc0ver 5.0 jailbreak. That was just following the release of iOS 13.5 that brought several quality of life improvements during the global pandemic such as the COVID-19 exposure notification API and quicker access to the passcode when trying to unlock a device while wearing a mask.

8 Comments

seanismorris 1624 comments · 8 Years

About 4 years ago

Still requires WiFi. Looks like my updates will be delayed anyways...

I used over 75GBs last month on my iPad, but I’m prevented from downloading Apple’s piddling little updates.

razorpit 1793 comments · 17 Years

seanismorris said:

Still requires WiFi. Looks like my updates will be delayed anyways...

I used over 75GBs last month on my iPad, but I’m prevented from downloading Apple’s piddling little updates.

You and I know the real reason behind this. There wouldn’t be a full month that went by before a class action of “Apple ‘forced’ users to download large OS updates over cellular connection.”

Apple should work out a deal with carriers where OS updates do not count against data caps, but considering carriers can barely support their networks as it is now, we’ll never see the day.

ralphie 129 comments · 5 Years

Why is there a toggle to "Automatically download iOS updates"?!? Devices already to that! The toggle should actually read "Disable automatic iOS update downloads".

dewme 5737 comments · 10 Years

razorpit said:

seanismorris said:

Still requires WiFi. Looks like my updates will be delayed anyways...

I used over 75GBs last month on my iPad, but I’m prevented from downloading Apple’s piddling little updates.

You and I know the real reason behind this. There wouldn’t be a full month that went by before a class action of “Apple ‘forced’ users to download large OS updates over cellular connection.”

Apple should work out a deal with carriers where OS updates do not count against data caps, but considering carriers can barely support their networks as it is now, we’ll never see the day.

I spent 3 years with my only internet service for my house being a cellular hotspot (AT&T HomeBase) that was part of my AT&T service plan and I never encountered issues with large downloads (multiple gigabytes) even when it was in-fact using a cellular connection. I really thought that Apple had provided a way for users to opt-out of the cellular download limits. So the logic behind how the limit is being imposed isn't really clear cut. It seems to be more related to how the connectivity device presents itself to the phone, not the actual physical layer connection.

It's not clear to me whether carriers are actually having a hard time supporting their networks. I think the limits are more driven by pricing tier strategies than technical limitations. I heard that there was at least one carrier that waived their limits during the (first wave?) Covid-19 period and later decided to remove the limits entirely because the increased demand didn't impact their network much at all. I personally think that limits should be based on the rate (MB/sec) and quality of service guarantees rather than the volume (GB/month). If you want to download 250 GB a month over a slow connection, party on dude.

igorsky 773 comments · 9 Years

ralphie said:

Why is there a toggle to "Automatically download iOS updates"?!? Devices already to that! The toggle should actually read "Disable automatic iOS update downloads".

This is completely counterintuitive. Green toggles indicate that something is on, not off.