Apple Seeds First Public Betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 With Universal Control, Face ID With Mask Support and More
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates to public beta testers, with the software coming just a day after the launch of the developer betas.
iOS and iPadOS 15.4 can be downloaded over the air after the proper profile from Apple's public beta testing website has been installed on an iPhone or iPad.
iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 are major updates. iOS 15.4 brings a new feature for unlocking your iPhone with Face ID even when wearing a mask, and iPadOS 15.4 introduces Universal Control. When paired with a Mac running macOS Monterey 12.3, Universal Control allows multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled with a single cursor and keyboard, and it's super simple and intuitive to use. Universal Control requires macOS Monterey 12.3, which does not yet appear to be available for public beta testers.
The betas also bring new Emoji 14 characters, an
Apple Card widget, a keyboard brightness Control Center option on iPad, support for on-device custom email domain setup, easier access to SharePlay, and tons more.
We have a full list of everything new in iOS 15.4 available in our iOS 15.4 features guide. Apple has also released the first tvOS 15.4 public beta.
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Top Rated Comments
no issues with stability so far
These releases are a reminder that even though fans, media, tech pundits obsess over hardware, it’s software that really moves the dial year-to-year. Even Apple has lost the right balance, which is understandable since they make their money on hardware. But to be great at hardware, you need great software. And to make a ton of money at services, you have to be great at software.
I used to buy tons of music and books from Apple. But iTunes was so buggy for so many years with confusing, half-baked interface, I just moved to Spotify. Same with movies many years later. I used to buy a ton of movies, but the library tab doesn’t work with large libraries, so I rent movies through Verizon or Xbox now.
I hope Apple really gets the balance back. Great software will feed the revenue ecosystem if you let it.