When it comes to “point release” iOS updates, there are those that don’t seem to change much and those that bring a bunch of fun new features to your iPhone. iOS 16.4, which arrived on iPhones everywhere on Monday, March 27, is the latter.
New security updates are usually reason enough to update your iPhone immediately, but in the case of iOS 16.4 you get a bunch of improvements that will impact the way you use your iPhone every day. . So if you’re wondering whether to upgrade, here are three reasons to take the plunge now:
New Home app architecture
Apple first released its promised new Home architecture in iOS 16.2, but users struggled to update it and it was quickly pulled a few days later. After several months, it is now back in iOS 16.4.
The new architecture does not yet add any specific new features. It’s simply a complete overhaul of how the Home app and HomeKit work under the hood for greater efficiency, reliability, and speed. If you’ve already upgraded before Apple pulled it last December, you shouldn’t need to upgrade again, but things should work smoother than last time.
Once you’ve updated to iOS 16.4, you can open the Home app, tap the (…) button in the top-right corner, then select Home Settings. The update prompt will be at the top of the screen. Note that all of your other Apple stuff (especially Home Hubs like Apple TV or HomePod) will also need to be updated.
New emojis
Who doesn’t love emojis? In iOS 16.4, Apple adds 21 new emojis (31 if you include skin tone variations). You will have:
- Heart: Blue, pink, gray
- Smileys: trembling face
- Gesture: Hand pushing right and left with 5 skin tones each
- Animals: Donkey, moose, goose, wing, jellyfish
- Nature: Hyacinth, pea pod, ginger
- Items: Folding fan, hair stick, flute, maracas
- Symbols: baby, wireless
Web App Push Notifications
For a long time, one of the biggest problems with “web apps” – websites that you add to your home screen to act like apps – was the lack of ability to send push notifications. With iOS 16.4, web apps added to your home screen can use the standard HTML5 Web Push API to send push notifications, complete with badge icons. Of course, they’ll have to ask for permission to do so like any app, and you can go to Settings > Notifications to adjust how the web app notifies you.
Just note that this will only apply to apps added to your home screen. You know, like you would with Wordle. Unlike Safari on Mac, regular websites accessed in Safari on iOS still cannot send push notifications.
And these are just the three main novelties. There are also some nice smaller features that you’ll love too. And for all the latest iOS 16 news, including the next beta when it arrives, check out our iOS 16 superguide.
