iOS 13.4 could hold welcome news for iPhone, Apple Watch and HomePod users

Revealing iOS beta code points to a big recovery feature

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If you’ve ever known the pain of an malfunctioningHomePodorApple Watch, you’ll be pleased to hear a new fix could be on the way.

Appleappears to be testing the ability to restore an iPhone, iPad or other device to its box-fresh state with a feature that will be available over the air.

The game may have been given away in revealing details that point to a feature that will make that a reality in the third beta version of iOS 13.4.

Inside that beta are mentions of a feature called ‘OS Recovery’ and it looks to be a way to restore iOS and Apple devices over the air. For those devices like the HomePod (or the magnetically-chargedApple Watch) that don’t have a physical port, this could be a great way to bring them back to life.

However, whether this iOS feature comes to the likes ofWatchOS, which the platform that Apple’s wearable runs on, remains to be seen.

Removing a headache

To restore and reinstalloperating systemson Apple devices currently, you need to plug them into a computer.

A feature like this available over the internet, or through another device in the household running iOS 13, would certainly take some of the pain away of going through the process.

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It would also bring it much closer to the way Apple’s Migration Assistant tool works onMacs.

As this has cropped up in a beta, Apple could well be testing it and may choose not to include it. Or it could be getting things up to standard to release it in a future iOS update. Maybe foriOS 14, which is likely to land later this year.

Update: this story was updated to include a greater reference to the HomePod and Apple Watch.

Via9To5Mac

Michael is a freelance journalist who has covered consumer technology for over a decade and specializes in wearable and fitness tech. Previously editor of Wareable, he also co-ran the features and reviews sections of T3, and has a long list of bylines in the world of consumer tech sites.

With a focus on fitness trackers, headphones, running wearables, phones, and tablet, he has written for numerous publications including Wired UK, GQ, Men’s Fitness, BBC Science Focus, Metro and Stuff, and has appeared on the BBC Travel Show. Michael is a keen swimmer, a runner with a number of marathons under his belt, and is also the co-founder of YouTube channelThe Run Testers.

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