Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 16.4 on Thursday, and while this update is designed for a small number of users, the iPhone maker has given us a glimpse of the features we can expect when the stable version of iOS 16.4 is seeded. The features include new emojis, an updated podcasts app, and notification support for web apps.
Emojis are pretty important and we’re getting 31 of them with iOS 16.4. The first version of these emojis — which include a moose, a goose, a pink heart, and “I am shook” — were released last year. Now, with the latest software update from Apple, they are coming soon to iOS devices. Since Thursday’s release is a developer beta, there may be some design tweaks to these emojis in the final release.
Image Credits: Emojipedia
Apple’s Podcasts app is also being updated with new features in the iOS 16.4 update. Specifically, if you’ve subscribed to channels through the Podcasts app, they’ll show up in a new “Channels” section in your library. With iOS 16.4, users can easily resume shows on the go by accessing the browse section in CarPlay mode. The app updates will also be pushed to the Podcasts iPad and macOS apps through the upcoming releases of iPadOS 16.4 and macOS 13.3.
Image Credits: Apple
The Up Next queue in the Podcasts app displays episodes of unfinished shows, even if you don’t follow that particular podcast. To remove them from the queue, you must manually remove them from there or mark them as played.
Apple’s iOS 16.4 update also brings good news for fans of website push notifications. If a user has added a web app to the home screen, developers can send a push notification after requesting permission. The company first showed off this feature last year at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Safari 16.1 update enabled the W3C standards based “Web Push” mechanism for macOS Ventura.
Image Credits: Apple
In the WebKit blog, Apple said that users can now also add web apps to home screens from third-party browsers. Until now, they could only do this through Safari.
There are some minor but noteworthy upgrades that come with iOS 16.4. First, the Messages app now supports extended preview of Mastodon links so you can see more details about the message. The software update also adds support for T-mobile’s standalone 5G service for better speeds. In addition, users can enable or disable the Always On screen with a focus filter.
You can download the iOS 16.4 beta from a developer profile or wait for the public beta to be released to test it out.