Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming just a day after the launch of iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3.

Developers can download iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 through the Apple Developer Center or over the air after the proper profile has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.

The updates add new emojis, support for third-party apps to implement 120Hz animations on ProMotion displays, EU vaccine certificates in the Wallet app, the ability to use Face ID while wearing a mask with an ‌iPhone‌ 12 or newer, the ability to turn off notifications for Shortcuts automations, keyboard brightness controls in Control Center, an Apple Card widget, iCloud Keychain notes, custom email domains, SharePlay in the share sheet, support for Universal Control, and more.

Universal Control will let multiple Macs and iPads be controlled with the same keyboard and mouse, and in December, Apple updated its website to let us know that ‌Universal Control‌ is expected in the spring.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is developing a new payments service that will allow the ‌iPhone‌ to accept debit and credit cards without additional hardware. This feature will let small business owners take payments over NFC without needing hardware like the Square Reader.

Apple is also working on adding support for IDs in the Wallet app so people in participating states can use a digital ID instead of a physical ID. Arizona, Georgia, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah are expected to be the first states to implement digital ID support, and Florida is also in talks to support the feature.