Apple released iOS 15 in September 2021, but that doesn’t mean your journey ends here. The company continued to develop iOS 15, and on January 27, just days after the release of iOS 15.3, Apple released a beta version of iOS 15.4 for developers.
With the different versions of this beta, Apple introduced new features, for example, a beta update required some users to review their SOS settings to enter an emergency contact.
The iOS 15.3 version mainly introduced security updates and bug fixes. Bugs. Instead, it looks like iOS 15.4 will bring some exciting new features that Apple had promised for the new OS, but haven’t arrived yet.
This is the case with the new emoticons, as well as one of the most anticipated features, especially for users wearing a mask: unlocking with a mask!
iPad users will also get new support for the “Universal Control” feature, which lets you use the same keyboard and mouse for iPad and Mac.
Beta versions are still under development and have so far introduced new features, including the “Tap To Pay” API, which we will discuss later.
It looks like the iOS 15.4 beta will also force iPhones to ask for permission to redo Siri recordings, likely due to an issue with the older version of the iOS 15.4 beta. Software.
The fifth beta arrived on February 28.
When will iOS 15.4 release?
What interests you the most is surely when the final version of iOS 15.4 will arrive.
If Apple follows the same pattern as last year, we can guess when iOS 15.4 will be released. The current beta more or less corresponds to iOS 14.5 of 2021. In this case, the first beta arrived on February 1, 2021 and it was not until eight betas later that the final version arrived.
Thus, we don’t expect the final release of iOS 15.4 to arrive until late April.
Here is the schedule for 2021:
- iOS 14.5 Beta 1: February 1, 2021
- Second release of iOS 14.5 Beta 1: February 4, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 2: February 16, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 3: March 3, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 4: March 15, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 5: March 23, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 6: March 31, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 7: April 7, 2021
- iOS 14.5 Beta 8: April 13, 2021
- Apple Keynote On springs : April 20, 2021
However, this beta could arrive sooner. Apple has confirmed that there will be a spring event on March 8, where the company is expected to show off a new iPhone SE, iPad Air, and new Macs (iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro or MacBook Air).
It is likely that the update Software is related to these new products. Although, obviously, the new products might not be available until late March or early April.
How to Install iOS 15.4
If you want to try the new features of iOS 15.4 before everyone else, we advise you to read our guide on how to participate in the Apple Beta program.
However, as always, be sure to back up your devices before installing new beta builds. Thus, you will not risk losing your personal files. Ideally, you should be using a device other than your primary iPhone or iPad.
We explain how to get the latest iOS beta and how to install iOS 15 and later updates.
Once the final version of iOS 15.4 arrives, you can easily download it to your iPhone. You will need to go to “Settings”, followed by “General” and “Software Update”. iOS 15.4 will appear as available to download and install.
What new features does iOS 15.4 bring?
While iOS 15.3 mostly came with bug and security fixes, iOS 15.4 looks set to bring some exciting new features.
Universal command
While Universal Control is more of a feature for iPadOS and macOS than iOS, it’s probably the biggest new feature this latest release will bring.
The first iPadOS 15.4 beta brought Universal Control. Universal Control is an extension of Sidecar, which was introduced in macOS Catalina and iPadOS 13 and made it possible to place an iPad next to a Mac and move the mouse or mouse pointer seamlessly. touchpad from the edge of the Mac screen directly to the iPad.
The next release of macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15 should enable mouse and keyboard sharing between two Macs. You can find more information on everything coming with macOS 12.3.
Universal control options can be found under the “AirPlay & Handoff” tab in “Settings”. There you will find a new option for cursor and keyboard (beta).
Unlock iPhone with Mask
This new function will be a real revolution, although people are surely wondering why it took so long for Apple to integrate it.
With iOS 14.5 (in April 2021), it became possible to unlock the iPhone with the Apple Watch if the user was wearing a mask and therefore Face ID could not work. Until now, users without an Apple Watch had to wait for Apple to release an iPhone with Touch ID.
In iOS 15.4 beta ‘Face ID & Passcode’ settings, there is a new switch for Face ID with a mask. With this option enabled, Face ID “will use the unique features around the eye area for authentication,” according to Apple.
Apple notes that Face ID is more accurate if this setting is disabled: it doesn’t do full facial recognition, so it’s less secure. Also, it seems Face ID unlocking with a mask only works with an iPhone 12 or later.
Another of the new settings for unlocking with Face ID will be the ability to add glasses, which means the system can correctly recognize your facial features. It is true that you can already unlock the iPhone with glasses if you used them when setting up Face ID.
New emoticons
From the hand of the Unicode Consortium, many new emoticons will arrive. These include melting face, waving face, lip bites, pot, beans, x-rays and bubbles. You can see them on the blog emojipedia.
Emergency contact alert
The third beta of iOS 15.3 includes a prompt to review Emergency SOS settings. Users are encouraged to enter the phone number of an emergency contact who will be called if the volume button and side button are held down at the same time.
This person will also receive an alert with your location.
Tap to pay
On February 8, Apple announced that iPhones will be able to function as point-of-sale terminals in the future. The feature, called “Tap to Pay,” has corresponding APIs in the iOS 15.4 beta that developers can customize for their apps and services.
Access to the service requires registration on Apple’s Apple Business Register portal. Tap to Pay is pretty universal: in addition to NFC-enabled iPhones and credit cards, coupon cards and store cards are also supported.
However, it looks like ‘Tap To Pay’ will only be available in the US, so it remains to be seen how it will be applied in the rest of the world.
Push notifications in Safari
The iOS 14.4 beta suggests that Apple is working on a new push API for iOS and iPadOS that will make push notifications possible in Safari. Although Apple has allowed push notifications through Safari on Mac for years, it has so far refused to bring the feature to its mobile devices.
Maximiliano Firtman discovered two experimental WebKit features in the iOS 15.4 beta that signal the arrival of push notifications, and he highlighted them on his firt.dev blog. Both sliders (embedded web notifications and API push) are disabled by default and don’t work yet, but I suspect they will eventually.
This should mean that websites can ask you if you want to receive push notifications on your mobile.
WebXR support (for AR/VR glasses?)
This beta version suggests that iOS is preparing for the time when users will be able to connect VR and AR headsets to the iPhone and iPad.
9to5Mac discovered that in the latest beta, Safari supports a development interface called WebXR. Th is is used to develop AR and VR content for the web.
iCloud Keychains and Notes
You will be able to add notes to a password entry in the keychain. You will need to go to “Settings” followed by “Passwords” to see your keychain entries.
Disable iCloud data access via browser
In the first beta, Apple added a new setting for Apple ID, so you can disable access to your own iCloud data in the browser through www.icloud.com on the paired device.
This setting disappeared in the second version of the beta, but we hope that Apple will bring it back in later betas.
Apple Map Widget
there will be a new widget Apple Card that can be added to the Start screen or “Today” view. It will show your current account balance and movements. The Apple Card is only available in the United States, and in fact we don’t know when it will arrive in other countries.
EU vaccination passport support
The Health app is now compatible with the format used by the EU in its digital COVID certificates, so EU users will be able to add vaccination passport details to the Health and Wallet apps in Europe.
DualSense adaptive trigger support
iOS 15.4 will allow developers to add support for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller adaptive triggering feature.
Siri registration request
In August 2019, it emerged that Apple was logging certain Siri requests and using third-party companies to evaluate them. What’s worse is that it wasn’t communicated enough to users, so many of them were outraged.
Subsequently, Apple explicitly asks users for permission to make these recordings (which are intended to improve Siri), and Apple has pledged not to pass on this sensitive information to outside companies.
However, the iOS 15.4 beta discovered a bug that caused some of these Siri requests to be stored on some iPhones despite the user’s refusal. It seems that the bug existed in iOS 15 until iOS 15.1.1. Then, with iOS 15.2 in December 2021, Apple fixed the bug by preventing these recordings from occurring on affected devices.
With iOS 15.4 (currently in beta 2), the device will again request permission for these Siri notifications, but it will only be for users who had Siri recordings stopped by Apple in December 2021. So if you see this request indicates that your recordings were saved.
Apple has confirmed ZDnetComment that all records resulting from this error have been deleted.
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