Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 16.4 on Thursday and while this update is designed for a small user base, the iPhone maker gave us a preview of the features to expect when the stable version releases. ‘iOS 16.4 will be installed. Features include new emojis, an updated podcast app, and notification support for web apps.
Emojis are quite important and we get 31 of them with iOS 16.4. The first draft of these emojis — featuring a moose, goose, pink heart, and “I’m shaken” — were released last year. Now, with Apple’s latest software update, they’ll soon be coming to iOS devices. As Thursday’s release is a developer beta, there could still be design changes to these emojis in the final release.
Image credits: Emojipedia
Apple’s Podcasts app is also updated with new features in the iOS 16.4 update. Notably, if you’ve subscribed to channels through the Podcasts app, they’ll appear in a new “Channels” section of your library. With iOS 16.4, users will be able to easily resume shows on the go by accessing the navigation section in CarPlay mode. App updates will also be delivered to Podcasts iPad and macOS apps via the upcoming iPadOS 16.4 and macOS 13.3 releases.
Picture credits: Apple
The Podcasts app’s Up Next queue will show unfinished show episodes, even if you’re not following that particular podcast. To remove them from the queue, you must either manually delete them or mark them as read.
Apple’s iOS 16.4 update also brings good news for fans of website push notifications. If a user has added a web app to the home screen, developers will be able to send a push notification after asking for permission. The company first showcased this feature at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last year. The Safari 16.1 update allowed the W3C standards-based “Web Push” mechanism to macOS Ventura.
Picture credits: Apple
In the WebKit blog, Apple said users can now also add web apps to Home screens from third-party browsers. Until now, they could only do this through Safari.
There are a few small but noticeable updates that come with iOS 16.4. First, the Messages app now supports a rich preview of Mastodon links, so you’ll be able to see more post details. The software update also adds support for T-mobile’s 5G standalone service for better speeds. Additionally, users will be able to enable or disable the Always On screen with a Focus filter.
You can download the iOS 16.4 beta through a developer profile or wait for the public beta to drop to test it out.
