Apple launched IOS 16.4 update, which brought some new features in addition to bug fixes and general improvements to the system. All changes in this update were counted until they reached more than 50 features, improvements, and problem fixes. In this article, we mention to you the most important of these features in some detail.
Adding 21 new emoji to the keyboard
iOS hasn't received any new emoji for about a year, and iOS 16.4 finally introduces a total of 21 new emoji, but a breakdown of 31 if you count the different skin tones of the hands. Other notable features include a vibrating face, pink heart, jellyfish, hair styling comb, pea pod, ginseng, hyacinth flower, wings and more.
Notifications for web apps added to the home screen
Web applications are not complete original applications on the App Store, so they do not have the same features and characteristics, such as notifications and others, and those in charge of this type of application may want to provide you with important updates, notifications and alerts. With iOS 16.4, if you add a web app to your home screen through the “Add to home screen” feature in Safari, that web app will be able to send notifications, just like any normal app on an iPhone, provided you give it permission for notifications. This means that you can see notifications on the lock screen, notification center, and a paired Apple Watch. You can also see notification badges on the app icon on your home screen, just like a regular iOS app.
We wrote an article about web applications, which has many useful information
Additionally, these new web app notifications on your home screen correspond to your focus settings. Also, you can add the same web app to your home screen multiple times, and each one will work independently, provided they each have a different name. And your focus settings will be synced across all devices if you install the web app with the same name on all of them.
New setting for the always-on display feature
The Always On Display feature list has been modified for iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. In the submenu, you will find that Apple has modified the description, and under the “Customization” section, you will find the “Show Wallpaper” setting, and the “Show Notification” option.
In addition, you can now set Focus or Focus Filter on the Always On Display feature. This can be useful if you'd rather enable the feature at work and disable it at home, and this is just one example of when you might want to use this setting.
The page-turning feature goes back to the Books app
When iOS 16 was released, Apple changed the page-turning animation in the Books app from a simulated human-turning effect to a simple scrolling effect. However, users were not satisfied with this modification, now the old effect is back again. To adjust the effect, open the Reading List in a book, click "Theme & Settings," then choose the new Page Effect button next to the Appearance button. You can choose from:
◉ Slide: This is the simple effect introduced by iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.
◉ Curl: This is the older realistic effect of turning pages on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.
◉ None: if you want to “reduce motion”.
You can also change the page turning effect through Settings -> Books -> Page Turn Animation.
Find duplicates in your shared photo library on iCloud
The iOS 16.0 update added a Duplicate Album in the Photos app that identifies duplicate photos and videos and helps you merge them for a more organized photo library. Now, iOS 16.4 gives you the same tool in iCloud Share Photo Libraries.
Sound isolation for cellular calls
Apple introduced the sound isolation feature in the iOS 15 update, but it was limited to FaceTime calls only. And now the feature has been extended to cellular calls as well.
The microphones in the iPhone are already designed to cancel background noise, but this is not enough sometimes. So, this is enhanced by using on-device machine learning algorithms to recognize and amplify your voice over background noise. The result is that callers hear you more clearly, but you will have to set this manually in the same way as with FaceTime calls:
◉ Once the call is made, open Control Center.
◉ In the Control Center, you will see the Microphone button available at the top of your screen. click on it.
◉ Then choose Voice Isolation.
Collision detection improvements
The collision detection feature in the iPhone 14 lineup is a valuable life-saving feature that we hope no one ever has to use. However, it seems that some users have found themselves getting false alerts due to the feature being so sensitive. False alarms from roller coasters or skaters have been reported, prompting Apple to tweak its collision detection algorithm twice before — once in iOS 16.1.2 and then again in iOS 16.3.1. iOS 16.4 update contains no other bugs.
So, if you previously disabled collision detection, it is useful to enable it now after updating to iOS 16.4.
Beta updates based on your Apple account
Starting with the iOS 16.4 update, individuals who have signed up as developers will not have to go through the hassle of installing beta profiles on their devices. Apple will automatically check if your Apple ID is a developer account.
As a registered developer or public beta tester, you will now be able to find the option for beta updates under General > Software Update, which will allow you to decide whether you want to receive new beta updates or wait for the next public release.
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