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.

iOS 16.4 Will Clearly Show How Much Battery The iPhone 14 Pro Always-on Screen Is Draining

With the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, Apple introduced “always-on” displays, a term that literally means a screen that is always on.

On these smartphone models, it is possible to dynamically adapt the refresh rate of the screen, and instead of going to turn it off completely, the system only lowers the refresh rate to 1Hz and then darkens everything that is visible.

The result is a lock screen that always manages to show the clock, any widgets, notifications and even the system wallpaper, albeit in a darker version.

When Apple launched this novelty it also stated that the impact on battery life would not have been very high but in reality it has been found that the always on affects quite significantly. One test estimated that keeping the screen always on for 1 hour drains the battery by 0.8% which, over a whole day if the screen was always on, would correspond to about 20% of the total charge.

Over time and with the update to iOS 16.2, Apple has begun to offer a further possibility to users, namely that of completely eliminating the background (and also the Notifications if desired) when the phone is in Always-on mode. Whoever enables this option, instead of darkening it, will completely replace the background with a black image and a black pixel, on OLED-type screens, corresponds exactly to an off pixel.

The expedient that we have just described still allows you to keep the time and the other components always visible on the screen, deactivating only the background. It is estimated that in this way the impact on the battery is lower, equal to 0.6% per hour or 14% in 24 hours.

These just described are only estimates obtained with a test but in real use the percentages could be different or in any case vary according to the background. It is possible that Apple has received several complaints from users regarding the battery life of the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max and that this has led the company to add another trick.

In fact, traces of a new function have been found within the iOS 16.4 beta 1 code that will be implemented in the Settings => Battery section.

It seems that Apple will soon allow us to obtain more detailed information on the battery consumption generated by the always-on screen and that this data will be easy to find and read on the dedicated screen.

In this way, first of all, each of us will be able to acquire a greater awareness of the use of the telephone and then, secondly, it could be useful for Apple support to explain to users that a (more or less important) part of battery consumption depends on the screen being always on, inviting them to look at that data and possibly evaluate the idea of deactivating the function, causing the screen to turn off completely when the phone is not being used.

5 Useful iOS Features That Are Yet To Be Released To All Users

While the majority of iOS features are released globally by Apple, there are a few that are currently limited to certain regions, such as Apple Card, Apple Cash, adding IDs to apps. Use Wallet, Advanced Data Protection and Clean Energy Charging. Below are detailed information about these features, please refer to them.

Apple Card:

First launched in 2019, the Apple Card is currently only available in the US. Users can manage this credit card through the Wallet app on iPhone, or use a physical card to use at stores that don't accept touch to pay by phone.

Apple Card charges no fees other than interest and offers up to 3% cashback on use. While there are some leaks about the card could be extended to other countries in the future, the company has not confirmed any plans for this yet.

Apple Cash:

Apple Cash is a Venmo-like payment feature that allows US iPhone users to send, request, and receive money within the Wallet and iMessage apps. You can even transfer your Apple Cash balance to a connected bank account. However, Apple Cash is still only available in the US at this time.

Add IDs to Apple Wallet:

In early 2022, Apple began rolling out a feature that would allow residents of participating states in the US to add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on iPhone and Apple Watch.

These features require iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.4 or later and are currently only available in Arizona, Colorado, and Maryland, with at least nine other states expected to be supported in the near future.

Apple says the company is working to make the ID feature available across the US, but the company has yet to announce any plans to expand the feature to other countries.

Advanced data protection:

The "Advanced Data Protection" feature extends end-to-end encryption for iCloud backups, including device backups, messages, photos, notes, reminders, and more. Initially, iCloud's end-to-end encryption supported 14 different types of data on iCloud, including things like keychains or user health information.

However, this expansion brings the number of protected categories to 23. On the iPhone, the feature was only introduced with iOS 16.2 to users in the United States, and will begin rolling out to "the rest of the list." world" in early 2023, according to Apple.

Clean energy:

charging Clean energy charging allows ‌iPhone‌ to receive carbon emissions forecasts, while helping the environment when charging from the grid using more friendly energy sources.

Apple says this feature works in tandem with a battery charger optimized to learn user habits, but it's only effective when charging the device for a long time.

When power charging is disabled, a notification appears on the lock screen that provides details about when iPhone is fully charged, similar to optimized battery charging. Currently, Clean Energy Charging is only available in the US.