Apple’s iOS 15.4 update for iPhone is coming soon, and it has some exciting features you won’t want to miss. The software is still in its testing phase, but you can hop on the beta now if you don’t want to wait for the stable release to try out all the features.
The iOS 15.4 software has been available to developers since Jan. 27, 2022, and public beta testers since Jan. 28. Since then, we’ve found a lot of new features and updates for iPhones in the U.S., and we keep discovering more as the beta moves along. If you want to try out the new stuff right now, you can join the Apple Beta Software Program. If not, you can live vicariously through the features list below until iOS 15.4 is released to everyone.
As of Feb. 15, 2022, Apple is on iOS 15.4 beta 3.
1. Over 100 New Emoji
The iPhone’s last big emoji update was nearly ten months ago in iOS 14.5, but new emoji have been available in the Unicode 14.0 standard since before Apple released iOS 15.0. Apple finally brings those missing emoji to life in iOS 15.4. In all, there are 37 new characters to enjoy — 112 if you count all the skin tone variations — and they also appear in iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3.
Highlights include Melting Face, Saluting Face, Face Holding Back Tears, Biting Lip, Pregnant Man, Pregnant Person, Person with Crown, Troll, Coral, Lotus, Empty Nest, Nest with Eggs, Low Battery, Bubbles, and various hand gestures, including a mix-and-match emoji picker for Handshake to choose different skin tone combinations. Head to our guide on iOS 15.4’s new emoji to see all emoji and skin tone variations.
Apple also updated its Face with Hand Over Mouth emoji, giving it a smile, smiling eyes, and blushing cheeks, which is more consistent with how other platforms used it. The old design was changed to Face with Open Eyes and Hand Over Mouth, which was added to Unicode 14.0 for all platforms.
2. Use Face ID with a Mask
Apple previously added mask-related updates in iOS 13.5 and iOS 14.5 to make unlocking your iPhone easier when wearing a face covering, but they pale in comparison to iOS 15.4’s new “Use Face ID with a Mask” feature for iPhone 12 and newer. That means you don’t have to enter passcodes or have an Apple Watch.
The new Face ID mode hones in on the unique features around your eyes since the mask hides the rest of your facial features. It’s less secure than full-face scans but about a thousand times more convenient, especially since it also works with Apple Pay and third-party app logins.
In my experience, it works very well when unlocking your iPhone but can be a bit buggy during the setup process. Newer betas added a “Look down to unlock” message on the screen to let you know it needs to see around your eyes better to authenticate. Read our complete guide on iOS 15.4’s new Use Face ID with a Mask feature to learn more.
3. iCloud Keychain Notes
If you prefer iCloud Keychain instead of LastPass or another third-party password manager, iOS 15.4 has finally added notes to password entries. You can’t add notes when first making a password entry, but once it’s in your iCloud Keychain list, you can tap “Add Notes” to jot something down about the website or account.
4. Hide iCloud Keychain Security Recommendations
Apple includes security recommendations for iCloud Keychain that push you to change your password when it’s at risk of being compromised. Some of those situations are for easily guessed passwords, ones that appear in data leaks, reused passwords, and ones that incorporate common words.
If you don’t care to change your password, iOS 15.4 lets you hide those recommendations per site. Just tap the X next to the security recommendation and tap “Hide.” You can view all of the hidden ones in the “Security Recommendations” settings, as well as reset them all.
5. Add Custom Email Domains
As with all beta features, it’s a work in progress. I was able to remove a custom domain from the options, but I could not add one, even though I subscribe to iCloud+.
6. iCloud Mail Menu in Settings
To make way for custom email domains, as seen above, Apple moved the “Mail” menu in the iCloud settings from the very bottom to near the top where the “iCloud Mail” toggle was. The toggle now appears inside the menu, with everything from the old “Mail” menu included. Head to Settings –> [Your Apple ID] –> iCloud –> iCloud Mail to check it out.
7. Notify When Run in Shortcuts Automation
Shortcuts is great for automating tasks, but it comes with a lot of unnecessary notifications that can make the experience visually interruptive. While iOS 15.4 doesn’t solve all of the notification problems in Shortcuts, it does for certain automations (not to be confused with regular shortcuts).
8. Up Next Display Choices
If you save TV shows and movies to Up Next in the Apple TV app, you may have noticed that it displays the poster art for all unplayed shows and still frames from where you left on in-progress titles. If you don’t like those still frames, you can go to Settings –> TV –> Up Next Display, a new menu, and choose “Poster Art” over “Still Frame.”
9. Sorting Filters in Podcasts
10. Improved Magnifier Camera Picker
When you have the “Camera” control added to the Magnifier app’s interface, tapping it would make you choose between “Front” and “Back” cameras. Now, tapping it switches the camera automatically on iPhone models without telephoto or macro lenses. If you have more cameras on your iPhone, tapping it gives you “Auto,” “Close Up,” and “Front” choices. Auto works with the wide and telephoto lenses, Close Up uses the ultra-wide camera’s macro abilities, and Front uses the selfie camera.
11. Apple Card Widget
If you have an Apple Card, iOS 15.4 gives you a widget to quickly glance at your balance, available credit, and spending activity. You can add it to the Today View or Home Screen.
12. Tap to Pay
If you sell goods, Tap to Pay in iOS 15.4 makes it much easier to accept more payment types. Before, you had to rely on third-party accessories to accept debit and credit card payments on your iPhone. Now, anyone with an iPhone X or newer that registers in the Apple Business Register can accept card payments in person without any accessories.
Even better, it can also accept in-person payments made with Apple Pay and other NFC-compatible digital wallets like Google Pay and Samsung Pay. A third-party payment processing provider like Stripe or Shopify is needed, so Tap to Pay is a behind-the-scenes feature until one of those providers adds support.
13. Web App Push Notifications
Safari’s “Experimental” advanced features for iOS 15.4 has a toggle for “Built-In Web Notifications” that’s disabled by default. When enabled, progressive web apps can show you notifications, which you can allow or deny, in the Notification Center, similar to how they work in Safari on macOS. The feature may make it to Safari’s regular settings options soon, but for now, it’s not implemented fully in the beta.
14. Improved DualSense Controller Support
A piece of code available, GCDualSenseAdaptiveTrigger, gives game developers the ability to use Sony’s adaptive trigger firmware update for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense wireless controller. That means better gaming overall when using a DualSense controller with certain games on Sony’s Remote Play.
15. Activate SharePlay from the Share Sheet
Any app can tie into SharePlay’s APIs if they want to offer one of iOS 15’s hottest features, and iOS 15.4 gives developers another way to incorporate SharePlay — an option to start SharePlay from your iPhone’s share sheet. It may take a while for all your favorite apps to catch on, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see it right away.
16. Sign in to Passkey Apps on Mac and iPad
Apple’s iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey updates included a new Passkey feature for iCloud Keychain that lets you sign up and log in to mobile apps and web apps using Face ID or Touch ID. You don’t have to worry about passwords because your device creates and stores unique private/public key credentials for each account.
In iOS 15.4, you can now log in to accounts on Mac and iPad by authenticating on your iPhone with biometric identification. For example, it’s helpful when you create an account with Face ID on your iPhone, and you want to sign in to the app on your Mac or iPad, which doesn’t have Face ID.
17. Captive Wi-Fi Support for HomePod
When you connect to some Wi-Fi networks, you may experience a login screen to accept the terms or sign in with a username and password. Captive portals are common in hotel rooms, airports, dorm rooms, coffee shops, schools, and other public or shared spaces, but there’s a big issue with them: HomePod can’t connect to them. At least, not until iOS 15.4. With the new firmware, your HomePod will push the captive portal login page to your iPhone so you can finish connecting.
18. Software Updates Over Mobile Data
Many users report seeing a “Use Cellular Data to Download” or “Use Mobile Data to Download” prompts when first updating to iOS 15.4 via the Software Update page. We’ve seen it before for 5G networks, as well as 4G ones, but it appears the prompt is widespread now for both 5G and LTE networks.
Variations we’ve seen include “Download Over Mobile” and “Download Over Mobile Network,” and “Download Over Wi-Fi.” A support page last updated in December 2021 on Apple’s website says, “To improve the speed of the download, avoid downloading other content and use a Wi-Fi network if you can,” implying that cellular networks are fair game.
It may not be new, but more people are seeing the option for it.
19. Bug Fixes
- Fixes an issue where third-party apps were not displaying all animations at up to 120 Hz on iPhone 13 models with ProMotion displays. Developers can use the UIView block APIs or UIViewPropertyAnimator to create the animations.
- Fixes an issue where your iPhone would upload Siri and dictation recordings to Apple’s servers even if you opted out of sharing recordings and voice interactions to improve the features. A previous iOS update disabled sharing for all affected devices, but iOS 15.4 presents the “Improve Siri & Dictation” setup screen again during the installation process.
Universal Control (iPad, Mac)
While it’s not an iOS 15.4 feature, there is something called Universal Control that’s in iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3. The feature lets you use a single keyboard, mouse, and trackpad with your iPad and Mac. For example, you can move the cursor on your Mac over to your iPad, use your Mac’s keyboard to type on your iPad, or drag and drop content from one device to the other. To get it working, you need:
- iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3
- All devices signed in to the same iCloud account
- Two-factor authentication enabled for iCloud
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff enabled on all devices
- Your devices within 30 feet (10 meters) of each other
Unfortunately, Universal Control does not work iPad to iPad, with an iPhone, or using an Apple Pencil. Third-party keyboards and mice are supported on iPhone, so maybe we’ll see Universal Control one day. I wouldn’t bet on it happening any time soon, though.
Disable iCloud Access (Removed)
In iOS 15.4’s first beta, there was a new feature in the “Password & Security” settings for iCloud that let you disable iCloud access on the web, meaning you would not be able to access your account through iCloud.com. It would protect all your iCloud data, including your email, calendar, contacts, photos, notes, reminders, and files. However, it would still work with Find My if you lost your iPhone.
Apple removed the “Access iCloud Data on the Web” toggle in subsequent betas, but we may see it again since the feature relies on a server-side update; Without the server-side update, including it in the beta was pointless since it did not work by itself.
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