Apple seeds iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 release candidates

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Apple has rolled out iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 release candidates to developers. The first beta was released just a day after iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 were released to the general public. The updates featured a bug fix for a Safari flaw that could leak user information.

iOS 15.4 iPadOS 15.4

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 release candidates

March 8: Apple has shared the release candidates for iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4, with general availability announced for next week. 

Here are the complete release notes from Apple:

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

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta 5

March 1: Apple has released iOS 15.4 beta 5 to developers.

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta 4

February 22: Apple has released iOS 15.4 beta 4 to developers and public beta testers.

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta 3

February 16: Apple has released public beta 3 to testers.

February 15: Apple has released beta 3 to developers.

As per release notes, Apple has fixed the following issue in this beta:

  • Fixed: Error when attempting to add a EU Digital COVID Certificate from France, Ireland, or Singapore

Here are the changes discovered so far in this beta:

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta 2

February 9: The second public beta has been released.

February 8: Apple has released iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta 2 to developers. This update fixes the following issues:

  • Email address verification may not complete during the set up of an iCloud+ Custom Email Domain on iOS.
  • Delay of verification of EU Digital COVID Certificates preventing them from being added to Wallet.

The following new updates and changes have also been found in beta 2:

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta 1

January 28: Apple released the first public betas for iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4

January 27: Apple has released the first beta updates to developers for iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4. The update seems to be a major one as it is over 5GB in size for some iPhone models. Here are some of the new features as per Apple’s release notes:

Apple Pay

  • Developers can express payment network preference in PKPaymentRequest. Network preference is determined by the order of supportedNetworks. This won’t override the user’s default card selection, but if the card is multi-SSD, then the network preference order determines which SSD is selected. (80827905)

Authentication

  • Support is added to the passkey technology preview, enabling signing in to passkey-compatible websites and apps on Mac and iPad using an iPhone with a saved passkey. (87998254)

Game Controller

  • Support is now available for new DualSense adaptive trigger firmware features available via GCDualSenseAdaptiveTrigger. (87433163)

HealthKit

  • Verifiable health records now support adding vaccination records in the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC) format to the Wallet and Health apps. (79917344)
  • HealthKit query APIs in Swift now support async/await syntax, which simplifies the structure of code that previously used completion callbacks. (74040680)

SharePlay

  • A new GroupActivities API allows you to present UI that enables starting a SharePlay session from within your app. (88099397)

Here is our coverage of the new features and changes discovered in this beta:

iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 compatible devices

iOS 15.4 beta and iPadOS 15.4 beta are compatible with the following devices:

  • iPhone 6s and later
  • iPad Pro (all models)
  • iPad Air 2 and later
  • iPad 5th generation and later
  • iPad mini 4 and later
  • iPod touch (7th generation)

Install iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta

The new beta updates can be downloaded from Apple Developer Center by registered members. A membership costs $99 per year. Once registered, users can gain access to a beta profile for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch which allows these devices to receive developer beta updates.

Once the profile is installed, go to Settings > General > Software Update and wait for the beta software update to appear. Make sure that your device has at least 50% battery charge, and is connected to a reliable Wi-Fi network during the download process.

Apple Developer Center also gives access to the IPSW firmware files which can be downloaded to restore an iPhone or iPad manually using a Mac (Finder) or Windows PC (iTunes).

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