The initial beta of iOS 16.4 for the iPhone was released by Apple this week and includes a number of new features and updates. The software update will probably be accessible in March or April since Apple says it will be made available to the general public in the spring.
With iOS 16.4, the iPhone will get five new features, including more emoji, web push notifications, and more. These features are summarized below.
New Emoji
With Unicode 15.0, iOS 16.4 adds new emoji, such as a shaking face, a heart in three new color options, a donkey, a moose, a jellyfish, and others. We gave readers a preview of each new emoji that will be included in the update earlier this week.
Web Push Notifications
Through Safari on the iPhone, iOS 16.4 now adds opt-in support for web-based push notifications. Through this feature, users can receive notifications from websites through Safari just like they would from apps downloaded from the App Store. Only websites that a user saves as a web app on the Home Screen are eligible to ask to send push notifications.
Beta Updates Menu
With iOS 16.4, a new “Beta Updates” menu has been added to the Settings app’s General Software Update section. This menu will make it easier for participants in Apple’s Developer Program to access developer betas of iOS without having to download configuration profiles from the website for developers. From the same menu, it is also simple to enable iOS’s public betas.
If your iPhone is signed into the same Apple ID that you used to sign up for Apple’s Developer Program, the developer beta option won’t show up on your phone otherwise. Apple claims that going forward, the only way to enable developer betas in iOS releases will be through this new menu, preventing the use of and free online sharing of configuration profiles.
New Home App Architecture
Apple’s updated Home app architecture, which was initially released with iOS 16.2 but briefly pulled due to bugs, is once again available in iOS 16.4.
Following the installation of iOS 16.4, a Home app update with new underpinning architecture is optionally offered. The performance, effectiveness, and dependability of the app for managing smart home accessories have all been improved, according to Apple. The new architecture comes after iOS 16 point1 added support for Matter accessories in the Home app.
Podcasts App Improvements
For the iPhone and CarPlay, iOS 16.4 adds a number of new features to the Podcasts app from Apple.
The Up Next queue now includes episodes that listeners have saved to their Library and episodes that they play from shows they do not follow. On the iPhone, a new Channels menu in the Podcasts app offers a list of podcast channels all in one location.
Now, the Listen Now and Recently Played queues are accessible through CarPlay, and the Browse tab also offers podcast suggestions.
