Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 to Public Beta Testers

Thursday December 17, 2020 9:09 am PST by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 updates to public beta testers, one day after providing the beta to developers.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS‌ 14.4 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device.

Paired with the HomePod 14.4 beta that is only available to a limited number of testers, iOS 14.4 adds new HomePod mini functionality that takes advantage of the mini's U1 chip.

There are now visual, audio, and haptic effects when songs are transferred from a HomePod mini to a U1-enabled iPhone 11 or iPhone 12. When an iPhone is near the ‌HomePod mini‌ it begins a soft haptic touch rhythm that gets faster and faster as the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ gets closer until the interface to transfer a song between the ‌‌HomePod mini‌‌ and the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ opens.

This functionality will make handoff quicker and more reliable on a ‌‌HomePod mini‌‌ and an ‌iPhone 11‌ or ‌iPhone 12‌, all of which are equipped with U1 chips that let the devices better understand where they are in relation to one another.

There were no other new features or changes found in the first developer beta. The update likely focuses on bug fixes, security enhancements, and performance improvements that weren't able to be included in the prior update.

Related Roundups: iOS 14, iPadOS 14

Top Rated Comments

Kylo83

18 weeks ago

Apart from home pod handoff there's nothing new why isn't it a 14.3.1

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mnsportsgeek

18 weeks ago

Let's do it, Apple. Get all the way to 14.9 this year. I believe in you.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

jaco67fr

18 weeks ago

I also keep waiting for the fix to the lack of 5G on dual SIM situation. They promised "later this year" and the year is almost over, with no signs that the issue is being addressed or a reliable time table. Very frustrating.

It' s a shame to sell this iphone 12 with 5G, dual SIM, that doesn't work. All cheap chinese phones support dual sim and 5G, but not this iphone, can't believe it.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

I7guy

18 weeks ago

It' s a shame to sell this iphone 12 with 5G, dual SIM, that doesn't work. All cheap chinese phones support dual sim and 5G, but not this iphone, can't believe it.

The iphone 12 does not have 5G physical dual SIM. And we don't know the underlying issue...it could very well be a carrier issue. At any rate, if this is a showstopper my recommendation is don't buy the phone, buy a cheap phone that supports dual sim and 5G.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

jaco67fr

18 weeks ago

If someone could try if 5G is available with dual SIM ...?

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

C DM

17 weeks ago

Thanks C DM. Is it only some users who are experiencing this? Or across the board?

Hard to say. It might not be something that many really notice that much or bring up. I have seen one or two other posters bring it up in some release discussions.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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