Apple updated the operating systems on just about all of its products yesterday. There are too many changes to discuss them all, but here are the more significant changes that jumped out at me for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Also, remember that Apple always improves security with every update, so even if none of the changes seem relevant to you, you should still upgrade soon to get a safer iPhone, iPad, etc.
iPhone: iOS 16.4
- If you add a website to your home screen—which lets you tap an icon to launch a website just like you would launch an app—the website can take advantage of push notifications, much like a regular app can receive notifications.
- In the top right corner of the Music app, there is a circle containing a picture of your face (or a generic person icon). You can tap it to access your profile and change certain settings.
- It is now easier to get information on AppleCare coverage. Go to Settings -> General -> About -> Coverage. You will see whether you have AppleCare coverage on your iPhone and other devices paired to your iPhone.
- The Apple Books app reintroduced a page turning animation.
- Emergency SOS via Satellite comes to Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
- The Wallet app now has an order tracking widget. On the main screen of the Wallet app, at the top right, there is a circle with an icon of a cardboard box. Tap that icon to see purchases that you made using ApplePay and you can track the delivery.
- If you send a link to a Mastodon post, the Messages app now treats it like a link to a Twitter post because it displays a preview of the content that was shared.
- Voice isolation for cellular calls. This feature, previously available for VoIP services like FaceTime, lets you cut down on background noise and boost the volume of the person speaking.
- Lots of new Shortcuts actions. Juli Clover of MacRumors has a good list.
- 21 new Emoji characters:
iPad: iPadOS 16.4
- Just about all of the new features in iOS 16.4 also come to iPadOS 16.4. In addition:
- If you have the latest version of the iPad Pro introduced in late 2022—the 12.9” iPad Pro (6th generation) or the 11” iPad Pro (4th generation)—your iPad has hover support when you hover an Apple Pencil over the screen without touching the screen, as I explained in this post. Now, the feature gains tilt and azimuth support, which will mainly be useful for graphic artists. Brian Heater of TechCrunch interviewed some Apple executives and has lots of information about this new feature.
Apple Watch: watchOS 9.4
- Support for the 21 new Emoji.
- If you set a wake-up alarm, you cannot turn it off by covering up the face of your Apple Watch with a hand. People used to do that without realizing that they were turning off the alarm.