That iOS 17 will be the next big update for the iPhone is a fact, but its presentation is not expected until WWDC 2023 in June and its launch until September. Therefore, iOS 16 still has a lot of rope left and with iOS 16.4 we will have a good dose of news. This week its fourth beta for developers has come out and we already have clues as to when it will be officially launched for everyone (and its news).
Except surprise, we are 2 weeks away from iOS 16.4
It was just a month ago when the first beta of iOS 16.4 was released. And although Apple does not always follow the same pattern in terms of release dates, it does not usually make very strange variations either. Therefore, normally we can understand that with four betas and a month of developmentthe launch could be imminent.
But that’s not all, as there are more clues such as that the version number of this beta ends in ‘b’, something that only happens in the betas preceding the so-called ‘RC’ (Release Candidate). The latter are considered “final betas” because they are, as their name suggests, the candidates to be the version that will be released to the public.
On the other hand we have the date of Apple Music Classical. The new Apple application dedicated to classical music has already confirmed its release date for February 28. And although it is an independent application that would have nothing to do with a complete system update, it could be a perfect excuse to string it together with an update. In fact, who knows if Apple awaits some surprise for the app that makes it necessary to update to iOS 16.4.
Thus, without official confirmation, but tying these ends together, iOS 16.4 could be released on Monday, February 27. Just a day before Apple Music Classical is out and with the RC released a week before. It should be said that they are also expected to arrive at the same time iPadOS 16.4, watchOS 9.4, macOS 13.3, and tvOS 16.4.
The emojis reign among the novelties, but they are not the only thing
In the absence of knowing if any novelty related to Apple Music Classical or even any other unpublished feature until now will be introduced in the ‘RC’, the four betas of iOS 16.4 have already served to confirm several novelties among which these stand out:
- New emoji: 21 new Univode emojis are included, including hearts in new colors, a comb, a blackbird, a ginger branch, a reindeer, a jellyfish or some maracas.
- Push Notifications for Safari: In the same way that it has been possible in macOS for a long time, in iOS and iPadOS 16.4 there will be the possibility of configuring alerts on websites that will be received as a notification from Safari.
- New possibilities in Shortcuts: The possibility of creating ‘shortcuts’ that allow you to turn off and restart the iPhone or activate or deactivate the always-on screen on the iPhone 14 Pro stands out here.
- Display always on depending on the state of concentration: Once again, the latest iPhone ‘Pro’ will be able to benefit from a feature related to its always-on screen, since its activation and modality can be configured depending on the concentration mode that is activated at that moment.
- Animation in the Books app: one of those small details that is appreciated and especially for the most veteran reading books in the Apple app, since it brings back a realistic animation when going from one page to another.
- “Do you want betas or not?”: This is what Apple seems to indirectly ask when implementing a change in the updates panel that will allow us to update the iPhone by betas or stay only with the stable one, without having to install and uninstall the corresponding beta profile for it, be it beta public tester or developer profile.
Of course, these are not the only novelties of this version, although they are the most relevant. will also be included performance improvements and especially for the battery, one of those hot spots in system updates.
In Applesphere | Does iOS 16 consume a lot of battery on your iPhone? Eight tricks to save energy