Apple iOS 15.4 is just days away.
David Phelan
Apple iOS 15.4 might be the last big update before this Fall’s expected iOS 16 release (pesky bug-squish updates excluded). And it looks like Apple is planning to go out with a bang.
There are great new features coming, including some that we’ve been waiting for since they were first announced last summer, such as the iPad and Mac update called Universal Control. But there’s lots to be excited about for the iPhone, too. I’ve written about some of these before, but more details have emerged.
So, here’s your comprehensive guide to what’s coming. Read on for all you need to know, as you get ready for the software this week.
When’s it coming?
Apple hasn’t revealed the exact date, only saying that it’s landing this week, along with macOS and iPadOS updates. Apple does like to release its software on a Tuesday, so March 15 looks favorite.
But it might like to go early, and will, if it’s ready, so look out for it as soon as Monday, March 14. Check back here on Forbes as I’ll be covering it the second it drops.
It could come later in the week, but it’s 100% certain it will be by Friday, March 18 as that’s the day the iPhone SE goes on sale, alongside the new green iPhone 13 and alpine green iPhone 13 Pro (see what they look like here), doubtless pre-loaded with iOS 15.4.
What’s the most exciting thing in it?
Oh, there’s plenty to choose from. There are smaller details such as a new, non-binary voice to Siri. By the way, I love the idea that a piece of technology, inherently incapable of gender, is now going to be non-binary as well. Seriously, this level of inclusivity is a good move, and only Apple would champion such a thing—and the company has confirmed that the voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community. As the company says, it means users have more options to choose “a voice that speaks to them”.
Other items that might sound modest but could make a big difference, include possible support for saving digital versions of IDs such as driver’s licenses in the Wallet. One fewer thing to lose.
There’s the revised information when you set up an AirTag which emphasizes that tracking someone without permission is a criminal offense. A small but useful revision in iOS 15.4 means that if you accidentally double-press the side button, or if somebody else does, the previous result of showing all your credit cards in readiness for an Apple Pay transaction is replaced with an authentication screen. To be clear, it’s not that anyone else could actually access your payment cards, but now, nobody but you will even see which cards you have. There’s another Apple Pay-related item coming up in iOS 15.4, as we’ll see below.
Here are the big-ticket items.
Face ID with mask is coming in the next couple of days.
Apple
1. Face ID with a mask
I’ve been testing this for quite a while and it works flawlessly. Although the Covid news has been better recently, we’re not out of the woods yet and there are plenty of places where mask-wearing is still compulsory. This upgrade means that you can unlock your iPhone by looking at it, even if your face is partly covered by a mask.
It also allows you to use Apple Pay without removing your mask, or to open apps which require Face ID. Set-up takes fractionally longer because you’re encouraged to register your face again if you wear specs, for instance. But after that minor time investment, it’s plain sailing.
Apple Watch users have already been familiar with the convenience of this set-up, but this is even better (and doesn’t require a Watch).
Apple says it’s less secure than when you’re not wearing a mask because it is making its call on whether it’s you or not based on less of your face.
2. Live Text in Notes and Reminders
If you’ve been using Live Text on your iPhone, you’ll know it’s a remarkable system that interacts with text in sophisticated ways. It’s already in Notes (perhaps my most-used iPhone app) and Reminders, but now there’s the addition of a useful Scan Text command command which appears when you tap the camera icon in the app. With this, a camera window opens and, you can, say, copy the text of a recipe from a book.
The new Smileys in iOS 15.4
Emojipedia
3. Emoji
If, like me, you’re a fan of well-crafted, fun-looking emoji, you’ll be glad of the 37 new faces, handshakes, a biting lip that is sure to find a wide audience, an adorable troll and a pink lotus flower. There are so many skin tone and gender variants there are actually more than 800 new items. As usual, the Smiley faces are the highlight, I’d say. These include Face with Peeking Eye, which is a versatile and enjoyable choice for expressing everything from surprise to astonished regret. Ideal for being unable to look away from something you don’t want to see, too. Read more about the other emoji highlights coming this week here.
4. iCloud Keychain
Built into iOS and macOS is a brilliantly simple, helpfully automatic, password manger. While it hasn’t stopped me from subscribing to 1Password, which has lots of neat features, Apple has upgraded iCloud Keychain to make it more useful.
For a start, you can add notes now, which is very handy, but it also ensures that a previous issue is a trouble no more. Sometimes, Keychain would save a password without a username, leaving you stumbling to remember what name you used in some cases. That’s being sorted so that from now on it will make sure you save a username, too.
5. Universal Control
This is, strictly speaking, part of the companion iPadOS update but it’s such a big part of the software I couldn’t leave it out. It will work in conjunction with a macOS update, also due to land this week, so that iPad(s) and Mac(s) can work together in an entirely new way.
Essentially, you’ll be able to set up multiple devices together so you can control them as though they are one. So, for instance, you can pick up a folder on the screen of an iMac and as you move it with your Mac mouse in the direction of your iPad screen, the folder will vanish from the iMac and glide onto the adjacent iPad.
It’s a highly versatile, and much-anticipated, upgrade.
Tap To Pay is coming to iPhone.
Apple
6. Tap to Pay
Not everyone will make the most of this update directly, but you’ll be sure to see it in use sooner or later. It’s designed so that retailers can take payments on their iPhones. This is something that’s especially suited to independent traders and it means they don’t need separate hardware to read credit cards, as they do right now. Apple has said it will open it up to selected retailers first and build up availability as the year goes on. It will work with Apple Pay payments, of course, but also compatible debit and credit cards and other electronic wallets.
7. Magnifier
This is one of the iPhone’s great-but-hardly-known apps. It is a godsend to help you read the menu in a fashionably underlit restaurant, for instance. It’s a standalone app but you can easily set it to launch with a triple-press of the side button or of the Home button on a Touch ID iPhone.
Switching between cameras should become easier with the latest update, though obviously which cameras depends on which iPhone you’re using. A single rear camera phone like the iPhone SE (either the 2020 model or, presumably, the new 2022 version) will simply switch between front and rear snappers. Note that this feature has changed during the evolution of iOS 15.4, so it’s still not definite exactly how it will turn out. But, at the very least, I’ve been able to direct you to see how genius Magnifier is.
There are more changes coming, too, such as security fixes and other cute little updates. Be sure to check back here on Forbes for full details the moment the update goes on general release.
