Apple has released iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 for compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models. The new features Face ID unlock while wearing a mask, new emojis, vaccine cards in Wallet, new Siri voice, and other enhancements and bug fixes.
What’s new in iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4?
Apple released five beta builds for iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4. The update is a major one and features improvements to features like Face ID, Emoji, FaceTime, Siri, and more.
Face ID now allows unlocking while wearing a mask, and even using Apple Pay and password autofill. However, this is only supported on iPhone 12 and later, which means that users on older iPhones are out of luck. There are also 37 new emojis which include saluting face, biting lips, heart hands, and more.
Siri now has a new American voice, and also provides time and date information on iPhone XR and later, while offline. Vaccine cards support has also been added to the health and Apple Wallet app, which allows users to store vaccination status, test results, and recovery history.
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
The update also features 36 security patches. These patches apply to many core parts of iOS including FaceTime, Siri, Webkit, and more. None of them have been actively exploited as per Apple. The details for these patches can be found here.
You can also check out our coverage of all the new iOS 15.4 features below:
- iOS 15.4 beta 4 adds AirTag’s new anti-stalking warning message
- Siri gains new “American” voice in iOS 15.4 beta 4 and Dutch support in HomePod 15.4 beta 4
- Apple Podcasts app on iOS 15.4 beta 3 gains new browsing filter options
- iOS 15.4 beta 3 prompts iPhone users to “Review Emergency SOS”
- iOS 15.4 beta 3 adds the ability to save passwords with user name for iCloud Keychain
- iOS 15.4 beta 2 contains code for the upcoming “Tap to Pay” feature in the U.S.
- iOS 15.4 beta 2 re-enables “Improve Siri & Dictation” for all users
- iOS 15.4 beta adds 37 new emoji including saluting face, biting lip, heart hands and more
- iOS 15.4 beta adds support for unlocking with Face ID while wearing a mask
- Universal Control is finally available in macOS 12.3 beta and iPadOS 15.4 beta
- iOS 15.4 allows third-party apps to fully utilize 120Hz ProMotion display on iPhone 13 Pro
- iOS 15.4 beta gains support for Custom Email Domains via iCloud+ subscription
- iOS 15.4 features a ‘Cosmetic Scan’ trade-in tool for iPhone
- iOS 15.4 beta confirms Apple News app is adding sports scores and favorite team selection
- iOS 15.4 beta adds option to disable Shortcuts automation notifications
Compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models
These iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models are compatible with iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4:
- 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)
- iPad Pro (all models)
- iPad Air 2 and later
- iPad 5th generation and later
- iPad mini 4 and later
Install iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4
Simply go to Settings > General > Software update on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to download and install the new release. Make sure that you have enough free storage, at least 50% battery charge, and are connected to a stable Wi-Fi network before starting the download.
You can also download iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 IPSW firmware files if you want to do a manual update using Mac (Finder) or Windows PC (iTunes).
