After weeks and weeks of testing, Apple today released iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to the public. The latest iOS 16 release comes a week after the company seeded the pre-final iOS 16.4 RC build to developers last week. Along with the iOS 16.4 update, Apple has also released macOS 13.3, tvOS 16.4, and watchOS 9.4.
You can now download and install the latest updates on your Apple devices, which come with many new features. iOS 16.4, in particular, introduces several significant new features to the iPhone. While we have an in-depth article covering all the features of iOS 16.4, here are some of the major features that the new version brings:
iOS 16.4 Features
New Emojis
Apple has added 21 new emojis to iOS 16.4, including a shaking face, wings, goose, moose, pink heart, blue heart, gray heart, and more. These emojis were part of Unicode 15.0, which was introduced in September 2022. It usually takes Apple a long time to create new emojis, but they are finally here!
Apple Music Classical
Apple has finally released the Apple Music Classical app. This app offers a tailored experience for classical music lovers and is free for Apple Music subscribers. The app offers a vast catalog of over 5 million classical music tracks, hundreds of curated playlists, exclusive albums, and immersive spatial audio.
Voice Isolation in Regular Calls
iOS 16.4 brings the voice isolation feature to regular cellular calls. Previously only available for VoIP calls, voice isolation prioritizes the user’s voice and suppresses background noise for a clearer phone call experience. The feature was added in iOS 15 for FaceTime and other VoIP calls but is now available for regular calls as well.
Revamped iOS Beta Updates
With the release of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, the beta opt-in process has undergone significant changes. Developers can now enroll directly in beta programs from the Software Update section in the Settings app, eliminating the previous need to install a profile from the Developer Center.
Support for Safari Web Push Notifications
Web apps on iPhone or iPad can now send push notifications through Safari. Users must add the web app to their Home Screen and grant it permission to send notifications through a link or direct interaction. It’s worth noting that web developers must implement support for this feature, and it may not work immediately out of the box.
iOS 16.4 Official Release Notes
Here is the official changelog of iOS 16.4, as per Apple:
- 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard
- Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen
- Voice Isolation for cellular calls prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you
- Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library
- VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app
- Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected
- Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent’s device
- Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home
- Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models
iOS 16.4 Compatibility
You can download and install iOS 16.3 on the following iPhones:
- iPhone 14 series
- iPhone 13 series
- iPhone 12 series
- iPhone 11 series
- 2020 iPhone SE
- iPhone XS and XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8 series
Apple has dropped support for many of the older iPhones with this release, including the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and original iPhone SE.
How to Download and Install iOS 16.4
Installing iOS 16.4 on your iPhone is very easy. First, plug your device into a power source. Make sure you have enough charge as the update is over 4/5GB in size and may take a few minutes to an hour to download and install.
Begin by opening the Settings app on your iPhone and selecting General, then Software Update. Your device will automatically check for available updates and inform you when iOS 16.4 is available for download. As soon as you see the prompt appear on the screen, hit Download and Install.
Once the download is complete, the ‘Preparing Update’ process will begin. This may take a few minutes, depending on your iPhone’s processing power. Once the preparation is complete, your iPhone will restart to the boot-up screen for installation. Once installation is complete, you will have access to the new features and improvements.
Have you received the iOS 16.4 update on your iPhone? How’s your experience been with it so far? Which feature did you like the most? Drop a comment down below and let us know!
Source: Apple Releases
