iOS 10 Beta 4 Tidbits: Redesigned Emoji and New Emoji Characters, Revamped Keyboard Sounds, and More

Apple released iOS 10 beta 4 to developers today and as with any major beta update, it includes several small changes and tweaks as Apple aims to refine the operating system ahead of its public release this fall.

Today's update, available as an over-the-air download for those who installed the first three betas or the beta configuration profile, features new emoji, new keyboard sounds, Notification Center tweaks, and more.

We've rounded up all of the new features in beta four in the video below, so make sure to check it out to get a quick look at what's changed. We're also listing all of the changes in the post below.


Emoji - There are new emoji designed to promote gender equality. Many professions and activity emoji are now available in both male or female options. Emoji have a new texture and many emoji have seen slight design tweaks.

emoji2

New emoji textures. Old emoji on left, new emoji on right.

Control Center - There's an intro screen when opening Control Center for the first time that instructs people to swipe left to access the different Control Center cards.

controlcenteropeningscreen
Haptic feedback - In iOS beta 3, Apple added haptic feedback when pressing the power button on the iPhone to lock it. In beta 4, this feature has been removed. There's no longer a haptic feedback buzz when locking an iPhone.

Accessibility - In the Accessibility section of the Settings app, the Color Filters option includes a set of colored pencils to show off the different color options instead of a color grid. This gives a better idea of how each setting is actually displayed on an iOS device.

Notification Center - The widgets screen, accessible by swiping to the right in the Notification Center, now displays the date. In previous versions of iOS 10, the date was not available.

notificationcenterdate
Home - In the Control Center, the Home app icons have been tweaked again.

controlcenterhome
Keyboard sounds - Keyboard sounds have been slightly tweaked. Backspace now has a distinctive sounds unique from other key press sounds, and there's a new sound for space, return, shift, and number/emoji shift.

Wallpaper - Some older wallpaper options have been removed and the mountain wallpaper with stars from an earlier version of iOS has been re-added.

Related Forum: iOS 10

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Heart Rate Tracking Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Expected to Launch This Year With Key New Feature

Sunday August 24, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects Apple to release new AirPods Pro this year, and he said the earbuds will have a key new feature: heart rate monitoring. From his Power On newsletter today, with emphasis added:As for Apple's other devices, there's a lot in the fall pipeline — though many of the new products are only incremental upgrades. There will be Apple Watch updates, faster Vision...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 12 New Features

Sunday August 24, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should be unveiled in a few more weeks, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman corroborated a rumor that iPhone 17 Pro models will be "available in an orange color." Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are...
iPhone 17 Air Thumb 2 Blue Electric Boogaloo

Apple Has Reportedly Considered Releasing iPhone 17 Air Bumper Case

Sunday August 24, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple has "considered" releasing a bumper case for the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Similar to the bumper case that Apple introduced for the iPhone 4 in 2010, Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air version of the case would cover the edges of the device, but not the back of it. Those bumper cases were made of rubber. Given that the iPhone 17 Air is expected to have ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Just Weeks Away: Eight Reasons to Upgrade

Wednesday August 20, 2025 6:44 am PDT by
We're only weeks away from Apple's annual iPhone event – rumored to take place on September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023. By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for enhancements,...
Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Antenna Design

Two All-New iPhone 17 Colors Seemingly Confirmed

Monday August 25, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple will offer the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in a new orange color, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman made the claim in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, adding that the new iPhone 17 Air – replacing the iPhone 16 Plus – will come in a new light blue color. We've heard multiple rumors about a new iPhone 17 Pro color being a shade of orange. The ...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 or Wait for Next Year?

Friday August 22, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through what to expect from the Apple Watch SE 3, Series 11, and Ultra 3, and whether it's worth holding off on an upgrade until next year. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The third-generation Apple Watch SE is rumored to feature a larger display (perhaps like the Apple Watch Series 7), the S11 chip, and...

Top Rated Comments

jdillings Avatar
118 months ago
I am really sick of the focus that emojis get, yet applications like mail, calendar or file/attachment management, facetime are so lackluster.
Emojis and watch bands...welcome to the new Apple.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alecgold Avatar
118 months ago
Ill miss the feedback when locking. Found it really useful.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MartinAppleGuy Avatar
118 months ago
Forgetting the biggest improvement of all; super fast animations.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdillings Avatar
118 months ago
It seems like nothing else at all happened aside from emojis being update. Nothing at all.
That's Apple today. They spend more time on fixing the gender equality of emojis than on the design and usability of their software. If they spent half as much time working on music app as they've spent on emojis, it wouldn't still be a steaming pile of poo.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mlody Avatar
118 months ago
I am really sick of the focus that emojis get, yet applications like mail, calendar or file/attachment management, facetime are so lackluster.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrismail627 Avatar
118 months ago
I know it's been said before, but these 2 minute update videos are great. Nice job MacRumors.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)