We are there or not far: the final version of iOS 15.4 is reaching out to us with its very muscular little arms! Or almost, since Apple offers developers a release candidate, in other words an ultimate beta which should be the final build unless a big bug appears in the meantime. The final version will be available next week, Apple announced tonight.
iOS 15.4 includes a lot of new features that we’ve been describing at length over the past few weeks, including identifying Face ID with a maskfunction Universal control between iPad and Macthe vaccination passport in the Health and Maps apps, or… new emojis !
iOS 15.4: release notes
Face ID
- Face ID while wearing a mask option on iPhone 12 and newer
Apple Pay and password autofill in apps and Safari can be used with Face ID while wearing a mask
Emoji
- New emoji including faces, hand gestures, and household objects are now available in emoji keyboard
- Handshake emoji allows you to choose separate skin tones for each hand
FaceTime
- SharePlay sessions can be initiated directly from supported apps
Siri
- Siri can provide time and date information while offline on iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 or newer
- Siri now includes an additional voice, expanding the diversity of options
Vaccine cards
- EU Digital COVID Certificate support in Health enables you to download and store verifiable versions of COVID-19 vaccination, lab results, and recovery records
- COVID-19 vaccination cards in Apple Wallet now support the EU Digital COVID Certificate format
This release also includes the following enhancements for your iPhone:
- Safari webpage translation adds support for Italian and Chinese (Traditional)
- Podcasts app adds episode filters for seasons, played, unplayed, saved, or downloaded episodes
- iCloud custom email domains can be managed from Settings
- News offers enhanced discovery of audio content in the Today feed and Audio tab
- Camera in keyboard can be used to add text to Notes and Reminders
- Shortcuts now supports adding, removing, or querying tags with Reminders
- Emergency SOS settings have changed to use Call with Hold for all users. Call with 5 Presses is still available as an option in Emergency SOS settings
- Close-up in Magnifier uses the ultra-wide camera on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to help you see small objects
- Saved passwords can now include your own notes in Settings
This release also includes bug fixes for your iPhone:
- Keyboard may insert period between typed numbers
- News widgets in Today View may not open articles when tapped
- Photos and videos may not sync to iCloud Photo Library
- Speak Screen Accessibility feature may quit unexpectedly within the Books app
- Live Listen may not turn off when switched off in Control Center
