Apple has just launched the new beta of what will be the new version of the operating system for the iPhone. Right now we have iOS 16.4 in our portfolio and although it is only available, at the moment for developers, we already have a small vision of the news that we can enjoy, hopefully not taking long. The novelties that it brings are, some of them very interesting, such as the management of Podcasts, which was about time. The new animations in the Music App or, for example, new Emojis but also new Widgets and Always On screen management. Let’s see, then, the news, one by one.
First of all, we must remember that this new version is currently in beta phase and therefore, It is only intended for developers. If you are enrolled in the program, you can then enjoy the beta and start testing the news. If not, you can go to the Web page that Apple has dedicated to these tasks and sign up, keeping in mind that if you are going to try these functions, it is better that you do it in a secondary terminal. Because although Apple’s betas are quite stable from the beginning, it does not mean that there can be serious failures and that the terminal is fried. That in the main is a very big task.
Let’s see what’s new:
We now have, for example, the access to push notifications or home screen badges. But in addition, third-party browsers can now display a user interface for users to add a website to their home screen.
new emoji
There is new emoji. A few will be added. Not too many, but some demanded by users such as a trembling face, a goose, a hyacinth or a pink heart.
There will be news regarding 5G with Standalone but only, for now, in the US
Unfortunately, at the moment only in the US and also only in the company T-Mobile, which is the one with the right technology. iOS 16.4 adds a new “5G Standalone” feature that can deliver blazing fast speeds of up to 3Gbps. It will help to have very low latencies around 1 ms. As far as iPhone is concerned, the most appreciable improvements will be related to the increase in upload speed, faster download speed and the absence of delays.
With 5G Standalone, you can segment the network into subnets with different transmission capacities, speed and latency.
What’s new on Apple Podcast
We will finally have the renewal of management in the library, accompanied by improvements in certain elements of the application and with new updates on the use of this Application in CarPlay. With iOS 16.4, you can easily access the channels you subscribe to and browse the channels of the shows you follow. As for CarPlay, we will be able to pick up the podcast where we left off and search for new programs in an easier way.
Always On is also improved
There will be a new filter for focus modes, so you can have certain focus modes enable or disable the Always On display automatically. In addition, one of the great novelties is that the consumption of the screen can be managed and we will know how much you really spend on the iPhone 14 Pro. That is, with the iPhone 14 Pro we will be able to see exactly what it consumes from the battery of the terminal.
Music receives new animations
There will be interface adjustments and icon changes in the music app. With it, for example, add a song to the list will no longer make a popup take up the whole screen completely. Instead, there’s a much smaller notification at the bottom.
Better Apple Care display and information
OS 16.4 includes a new screen in the app Settings where you can see all of your AppleCare coverage for multiple devices like iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Mastodon Integration in Messages
iOS 16.4 beta allows rich previews for Mastodon links in the Messages app. This is similar to what the app offers for Twitter and other websites.
New Accessibility feature
In the “Movement” menu you can dim the flashing lights.
“Video content that displays repeated flashing lights or strobes it will dim automatically. The video timeline will be displayed when flashing lights occur on the timeline for the supported media.”
New Widget to track orders.
Apple has added three new home screen widgets for the Wallet app’s built-in order tracking features.
Again: Home
Manual and automatic software update support is now available for Matter Accessories. The update also reintroduces the new house architecture after it was removed due to reliability issues.
keyboard changes
We will have minor updates to the different keyboards like autocorrect for the Korean keyboard is enabled by default or the Ukrainian keyboard now supports predictive text. Support for layouts on Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu keyboards is also added.