Apple News
New emoji
Face ID for face shields is supported
Shortcut automation
Siri has a new choice
Apple wallet widget
Apple has officially released iOS 15.4 to the public. This update was released a few weeks after the company launched iOS 15.3, and is a minor upgrade compared to iOS 15.2 that brings SharePlay compatibility. Here are all the new features of iOS 15.4 that should let you update your iPhone now.
If there are no new emojis, why bother updating to a new operating system? Luckily, iOS 15.4 brings 123 new characters to choose from.
These new options are part of the emoji 14.0 series and include new options such as pointy faces, heart-shaped hands, tears of joy and different skin tones, including handshake emojis. You can learn all about these new characters here.
Aside from the new emoji, one of the most anticipated features of iOS 15.4 is definitely the ability to unlock an iPhone without the need for an Apple Watch. When downloading iOS 15.4, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 users can set up facial recognition to recognize even when wearing a mask.
That said, Apple has also added support for glasses, which will also make it easier for you to unlock your iPhone on the street. Unlike the Apple Watch unlock feature, this feature even lets you use Apple Pay and unlock third-party apps.
For people who like to run personal automation, iOS 15.4 is even better. Apple will now allow you to run them in the background without a banner notification. A new toggle switch even lets you turn off personal automated notifications.
It is important to note that this update accompanies Apple from time to time to improve its shortcut applications. For example, in past versions, the company has doubled the speed of shortcuts and brought more customization to users.
In the beta of iOS 15.4, Apple introduced a fifth sound for Siri. The sound was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community, which the company says is a non-binary sound. Previously, the company worked to make the new Siri voice more neutral than female or male.
For U.S. users, iOS 15.4 provides a shiny new widget for Apple Wallet. It allows users to add their Apple Card balance, spending power, and spending activity to the Home screen.
The widget has a customizable setting that lets you choose between weekly, monthly, or yearly spending activity charts, which is useful for people who want to see their balance or spending activity at a glance.
iOS 15.4 Summary
iOS 15.4 comes with a few other features. Notably more noteworthy is iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3, where Apple has finally brought the most anticipated universal controls for features. For tvOS 15.4 and HomePod 15.4, on the other hand, the company added dedicated Wi-Fi network support.