Reporting by XinZhiyuan
Editor: Yuan Xie
In March 2022, iOS was updated to version 15.4, what changes has been brought about by this update?
If every apple conference is the Spring Festival Gala of the fruit powder industry. So every time iOS is updated, it is the time when the Spring Festival in the fruit powder industry ends and faces reality again:
My own good iPhone, because iOS is more and more powerful, I have to change again.
What new features will apple users bring to the iOS 15.4 update in the spring of 2022?
Wear a mask and brush your face directly with Face ID
This iOS update, undoubtedly the most eye-catching feature, is the new crown era of countless users have called for a long time "wear a mask can also use Face ID brush face" function, finally included in the iOS 15.4 update.
In the iOS 15.4 update, Apple introduced the ability to wear a mask and use Face ID. According to the various user experience diagrams, the system prompt will say that "the iPhone can recognize the characteristics of the area around the eyes" but not wear a mask is more accurate.
So, what is the cost?
With a snap, the storage space of 5 G is gone.
Back to the point, after completing the system upgrade, you can find new mask options in face ID options.
After clicking on, the user wearing the mask can set Face ID once again and re-enter the face data.
If the user usually wears glasses, there is also a "Add Glasses" option to help users unlock Face ID more accurately when wearing glasses and masks.
Users can add glasses information later. Apple allows up to four pairs of glasses per phone to register. It is now also possible to verify Apple Pay transactions while wearing a mask.
According to those who have experienced it, at present, the unlocking speed is not affected.
Still, Apple warned in its settings app that wearing a mask and using Face ID is less secure and that biometric systems remain "the most accurate" when using full-face recognition.
For Face ID with a mask to work, you have to look at the device to get it unlocked, and it doesn't work when you wear sunglasses.
This feature is now restricted to iPhone 12 and later iPhone users.
"Notes" and "Reminders" added the function of scanning text
After the iOS 15.4 update, the camera scanning function of the "Notes" app and the "Reminders" app has also been improved, and the "Scan Text" function has been added, which can quickly scan the text in the picture and interpret/translate it through the camera.
In the new Notes app, just open the camera icon in the app and select "Scan Text", and the screen will become two divided windows. And quickly convert the text pattern captured by the lens into a digital document and enter it into the "memo" synchronously, which can be quickly recognized in Both Chinese and English.
The Reminders app also adds this scanning text function.
Therefore, when you receive an invitation letter, up to the file, etc., you can quickly scan the text through the camera, log in to the two apps, and use it as a note.
AirTag privacy protection enhanced
After several cases of trackers using Apple AirTag to spy on others, Apple decided to improve the situation in a new iOS update.
After the iOS 15.4 update, "AirTag Privacy Warning" became an official feature. Each time an AirTag is bound, the user will see a warning message saying, "AirTag is only for tracking items, not for tracking other people." Using AirTag tracking without the consent of others is considered a crime in many parts of the world."
In addition to warning users not to abuse, the new features of iOS 15.4 are also used to protect users from worrying about being tracked by AirTag.
The updated iOS has enhanced the "Unknown Attachment Detected" reminder function, which will clearly pop up a prompt with "AirTag Detected" instead of "Unknown Accessory Detected", improving the problem of confusing AirTag and AirPods in the past.
And after the iOS update, the AirTag prompt sound becomes more obvious, making it easier for users to judge the unknown AirTag around them.
112 new emoticons
Whenever iOS is updated, a new emoji meme pattern is added. iOS 15.4 also added more emojis, a total of 37 new emoji memes, as well as 75 different skin tone versions of existing emoticons.
Among them, the new facial expression faces are: melting faces, salute faces, hand covering faces, peeking faces, oblique faces, dotted faces, and so on.
The new gesture symbols are: heart-to-heart hand, to the right hand, to the left hand, palm down hand, palm up hand, and so on.
Other symbols are: Egg Nest, Empty Nest, Lotus, Mirror Ball, Jar, ID Card, Low Battery, etc.
The most discussed are the king motif of the neutral sexual characteristics, the pregnant male/neutral, and the trolls.
Podcasts are easily filtered
After the iOS 15.4 update, Apple's podcast app added user-friendly "Filiter episodes" and "Browse by season" filters.
If the content of a podcast channel to which a user subscribes has more than a plurality of "seasons" in order to distinguish, then within that podcast channel, users can display podcast content according to the "season", without having to slide down from the first season to find the number of episodes the user wants.
In addition, "Downloaded", "Played", and "Not Played" can all be one of the criteria for filtering episodes of podcasts.
Tap to Pay feature
Apple announced that it will support the use of tap to Pay in iOS 15.4, and the "Tap to Pay" function can turn the iPhone into a small card machine mainly used by merchants, changing the way in the past using bank card machines to pay by card.
Consumers can make a payment by simply making a purchase with an iPhone, Apple Pay, or contactless credit and debit card, and close to the tap to Pay-activated iPhone provided by the merchant.
This function can be relatively indifferent to the average user, but it is quite convenient for stores using iPhones, which can save the cost of signing a high card machine with the bank.
Tap to Pay supports the iPhone XS and later, as well as the iPhone X and Apple Series 3 smartwatches.
Vaccine card
After the iOS 15.4 update, the Health and Wallet apps support the eu digital COVID certificate format.
Users can download and store verifiable COVID-19 vaccine records, test results and rehabilitation records based on the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate through the Wallet or Health app.
In simple terms, it is possible to add the vaccination digital proof to Apple's "wallet" or "health" app without going through a third party, and using the built-in function of iOS itself.
However, this feature may not be useful to Chinese users...
Bug fixes
The iOS 15.4 version update fixes several bugs from previous iOS
1. The keyboard may insert a period between the numbers you type
2. Photos and videos may not be synced to iCloud Photo Library
3. The "Speak Screen" accessibility function may be unexpectedly withdrawn when used in the "Books" app
4. Turning off "Real-time Listening" in the "Control Center" may not be able to turn it off
Resources:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/14/22976606/ios-15-4-mask-compatible-face-id-emoji-tap-to-pay-airtags-stalking-update-release-date-features
https://www.businessinsider.com/face-id-with-mask
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/ios-15-4-the-best-features-coming-to-your-iphone-today/
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/everything-new-in-ios-15-4/
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ios-154