iOS 16.4 Update: Everything We Know So Far

The iOS 16.3 was unveiled and made available to the general public on January 23, along with iPadOS 16.3. The update was more of a minor update and did not bring any significant changes to the iOS operating system, and it still took too many days to get released.

iOS 16.4 is going to be different. It will be a significant upgrade compared to the previous update. This article will discuss iOS 16.4, its release date, and its expected features. So, if your device is eligible for the update, read the article completely to learn about the upcoming new features.

iOS 16.4 Release Date

• The official version of iOS 16.4 was released on March 27, 2023.

March 27:  iOS 16.4 is now official. You can download it on eligible iPhones over the air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. With iOS 16.4, the emoji keyboard has been expanded to include 21 new emojis, Notifications for web apps have been added to the Home Screen, Voice Isolation has been added for cellular calls, the Photos app now supports the detection of duplicate photos/videos, the Weather app brings VoiceOver support for maps, Optimizations have been made for Crash Detection on iPhone 14 models, and several bug fixes.

Read: iOS 17 Coming Soon: All You Need to Know.

March 15: The fourth beta build of iOS 16.4 is now available to the public for testing. This means the official release of iOS 16.4 is imminent. The build number is 20E5239b. A profile is not required to install the beta update. You can install it by navigating the Settings app> General> Software Update.

March 8: Apple has released iOS 16.4 public beta 3. Now, Non-developers can also test the latest build ahead of its official launch. If you have joined Apple’s free beta testing program, you can download the ‌iOS 16.4‌ beta after installing the certificate from the Public Beta portal. In addition, the Beta build also shows in the software update section if your Apple ID is registered as a developer.

Update February 28: iOS 16.4 beta 2 is rolling out over the air to those enrolled in Apple’s Developer Program. The beta 2 build includes the page turn curl animation previously removed from the operating system. This animation is optional; users can turn it on or off according to their preferences.

Apple released the first beta of iOS 16.4 to developers on February 16, 2023. Developers can download the iOS 16.4 profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once successfully installed, the beta software will be available over the air.

The new iOS 16.4 update brings Web-based Push Notifications, Podcasts App Improvements, Beta Updates Menu, New Home App Architecture, New Emoji, AppleCare Coverage Overview, 5G Standalone Support for T-Mobile, and more.

You can turn on developer betas directly.

Starting from iOS 16.4, Apple developers no longer have to install profiles from the Apple Developer Centre. A new section within the Software Updates menu says Beta Updates. Betas are now available for both iOS and iPadOS. You get the option to enroll in both the developer betas and the public beta versions. Public betas are relatively less buggy and more usable.

If you were previously enrolled in Apple’s beta program, these options would turn on automatically. Configuration profiles won’t work for developer betas anymore. Note that you need to have a membership in Apple’s developer program to receive developer betas.

The entire process of downloading Betas is much simpler than before.

Old Story follows…….

After the launch of iOS 16.3, the new iOS 16.4 beta versions should start getting released a day later. The first beta was expected in the first week of February, but it is not what it is.

Following the past launches of the iOS 16.x operating system, the beta updates generally appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Considering the same, the first beta of iOS 16.4 is expected in mid-February 2023.

After the first beta, we might be able to witness the subsequent beta launches in the next week, given that the prior launches should be on the scheduled timelines.

To further dig into the iOS 16.4 release date, we will consider past-generation iOS launches. For instance, in 2022, the first beta of iOS 15.4 came on January 27, which was one day after the launch of iOS 15.3. Similarly, in 2021, the beta versions for iOS 14.5 arrived in February as the frequency of providing updates was faster for the company. Likewise, if we inspect the year 2020, after the launch of iOS 13.3.1, we saw iOS 13.4 on February 5, immediately after a week.

So, it is inevitable that iOS 16.4 should be launched officially in a month or so, excluding beta versions. So, following the highly anticipated timeline, the first beta for developers will arrive in the 2nd week of February, and then the public beta should come in 3rd week of February. The final launch of iOS 16.4 is expected around March or early April if the launch timeline gets delayed due to some features requiring more extensive tasks.

iOS 16.4 Features (Expected)

As the iOS 16.3 update did not bring any changes other than bug fixes and stability improvement, the next update can probably get a lot more than expected. The very much anticipated and potential features of iOS 16.4 are as follows:

1. New Emojis: Apple announced new Emojis during the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2022 and claimed they would add the emoji with iOS 16. So, it can likely come with iOS 16.4. Some of the significant expected emojis made by Unicode Emoji 15 are a light blue heart, grey heart, blackbird, jellyfish, moose, donkey, hair pick, maracas, flute, peapod, folding hand fan, hyacinth, ginger, goose, wing, Khanda, and many more. It should be noted that the final selection of the emojis varies based on the company’s decision.

2. Apple Music Classical: The company is working on a revamped music classical controlled by a new application. However, it was supposed to come in 2022, but it’s already 2023. Now, we can expect the changes with the upcoming update.

3. Apple Pay Later: According to Mark Gurman (Bloomberg), the feature is expected to come in iOS 16.4. The feature is more or less similar to the PayPal buy now, pay later condition and will be available in Apple’s Wallet application. With the help of Apple Pay Later, consumers in the United States can disperse their purchases into four equal payments in six weeks with no extra interest. So, if you are interested in the feature, it may come with the forthcoming iOS 16.4 update.

4. Apple Card Savings Discount: With the help of the Apple Card, users can grow Daily Cash rewards without interrupting their savings for the future. The new savings discount includes automatically depositing their Daily Cash into a high-yield Savings Account from Goldman Sachs. With that, the users can open the new high-yield Savings Account, and their Daily Cash will automatically get deposited into it. It requires no fees, minimum deposit conditions, or minimum balance requirements. Unfortunately, there is no launch date for its release, but it can arrive any time soon.

5. Web-Based Push Notifications: Like Macs, the feature will help websites send notifications through Safari on the respective iPhone or iPad. The feature is yet to arrive on iPhones. It is now expected anytime soon with the upcoming iOS 16.4 update.

Apart from the above changes to the iOS operating system, there will be some acceptable modifications to increase the performance and stability of the respective device. There can be some patch-up for the reported and unknown bugs causing inconvenience to the users with the upcoming iOS 16.4 update.

Following Apple’s path to provide updates, the first beta of iOS 16.4 will be provided to the developer’s testers. After a week or so, the company will probably offer the beta to the public beta testers. As already mentioned, we will be able to witness the stable release around the end of March.

Are you waiting for iOS 16.4? Did you face any difficulties with iOS 16.3? Hopefully, the upcoming update will fix the existing issues, if any. Did you like the features that are expected to come with iOS 16.4? Do tell us in the comments section below. Also, connect with us; we will keep updating the post with the latest growths as soon as possible.