Apple To Release iOS 16.4 By The End Of The Month, Here Are The New Features To Expect

Apple is currently testing iOS 16.4 with developers and beta testers. This new version of iOS includes a number of new features and bug fixes.

In this article, we summarize all the new features included in the aforementioned version of iOS.

WHAT'S NEW IN IOS 16.4?

New Emojis:

One of the most important features of this version of iOS are the new emojis. Specifically, there are 21 new Emojis within the appropriate keyboard and among these we find:

• A stunned face
• One pink, one blue and one gray heart
• An outstretched hand which could mean either “Stop” or “Hit 5” since there is also another drawn in the opposite direction
• Various animals such as moose, donkey, goose, magpie, jellyfish
• A wing, flowers, peas, ginger, maracas, flute, wifi symbol and more.

These new emojis are also included in the latest betas of macOS 13.3, watchOS 9.4 and iPadOS 16.4.

Changes to the beta testing process:

With iOS 16.4, Apple wants to stop sharing iOS beta profiles. In the past, anyone could download the latest beta versions of iOS by installing the beta profile on their device. Specifically, this meant that people could install the developer beta of iOS even without a custom account.

Users will only be able to install the public beta versions, which are usually released the next day in the case of minor iOS updates, or about 3-4 weeks later in the case of large updates such as the one that will represent iOS 17.

New features in Safari:

iOS 16.4 gives web apps the ability to use Push Notifications through the standard HTML5 Web Push API . Access to the Apple Push Notification service was previously only available for App Store apps.

Books app animation:

The second beta of iOS 16.4 reintroduced page-turning animation as an option, which is a welcome return for Apple Books readers. In the Themes & Settings section of the Books app, there are now three page turning options: Curl, Side, and None.

Podcast app changes:

In iOS 16.4 there is a new splash screen in the Podcasts app aimed at explaining the new changes introduced on the app.

The app now supports channels in the Library, expanded CarPlay functionality, and an improved Up Next feature that lets us resume episodes and skip what we don't want to hear.

Other:

• Apple has introduced various changes to the Music app interface and icon changes. For example, adding a song to the queue no longer shows a full screen popup.
• Always-on display can now be linked to Full Immersion modes.
• In Shortcuts, there's a new "Set up always-on display" action, a new "Lock screen" action, and a new "Set up VPN" action.
• iOS 16.4 includes a new screen in the Settings app where we can see the AppleCare coverage of all our devices.
• There's a new home screen widget for the Wallet app's built-in order tracking feature.
• iOS 16.4 will allow users to monitor the battery life impact of the always-on display.

WHEN WILL IOS 16.4 BE RELEASED?

iOS 16.4 is currently in its third beta and the fourth beta could be released as early as this week. With Apple now releasing new beta versions every week, iOS 16.4 is most likely to be released to the public this month.