iOS 15.4 Beta 3: Apple increases the update speed for the March event

Unsurprisingly, after the release of iOS 15.3, Apple released the next beta for iOS 15 (and accompanying operating systems like iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS): iOS 15.4. After the last round, which brought mainly security updates and bug fixes, there are now some new features on board again. Or a well-known one that Apple presented in June of last year but had not yet implemented. The second developer beta was released on February 8, the third beta, somewhat unusual, comes out a week later instead of two weeks later on February 15. There have been some changes compared to the first two preview versions.

iOS 15.4: New Features

podcast

There is a small change in the Podcasts app:
Users can order individual shows by season, as long as the authors have already released multiple seasons. The season breakdown already appeared with iOS 11, but the episodes were still arranged chronologically without an option to show a specific season.

universal controls

The iPadOS 15.4 beta finally brings Universal Control, which was originally supposed to release last fall but was pushed back to spring 2022. The ability to drag and drop files between iPad and Mac (or different Macs) and keyboard sharing and wireless mice is located in the Airplay & Handoff tab in General Preferences. There you will find a new option “Cursors and Keyboard (Beta)”.

Tap to pay as API

On February 8, Apple announced that iPhones could serve as point-of-sale terminals in the future. The manufacturer has baptized the function Tap to Pay, and as of the second beta of iOS 15.4 the corresponding APIs now appear, which developers can adapt for their apps and services. This requires registration on the Apple portal.

Apple Business Registry
necessary. Tap to Pay is pretty universal – next to NFC-enabled iPhones and credit cards it’s noisy

9to5mac
also supports coupon cards and shopping cards. Google Pay and Samsung Pay are also possible.

Face ID with mask and without Apple Watch

Better late than never, right? With iOS 14.5 it was possible to unlock the iPhone with the Apple Watch if the user was wearing a mask and as a result, Face ID could not work. Until now, users without Apple Watch had to aim for an iPhone with Touch ID.

In the Face ID and passcode settings, you will find a new Face ID with skin change. When enabled, Face ID “will use the unique features around the eye area for authentication” instead of performing full facial recognition. There is also a new “Add Glasses” setting to help the system correctly recognize your facial features. Apple notes that Face ID is more accurate when the setting is turned off. Apparently unlocking via Face ID on the skin only works on newer iPhones,

9to5Mac points this out
that devices are only compatible with iPhone 12.

In the second beta, Apple has made the unlock screen and the information about it more precise. The software requires the user to look down to unlock the iPhone with Face ID with a mask.

emoticons

The Unicode consortium has approved a new series of emojis in version 14, Apple now adopts the recommendations of the consortium and introduces a dozen new pictograms. These include the melting face, waving face, lip biting face, glass, beans, x-ray, bubbles, and more. (

Wheat beer, white sausages, and white wine are still missing from Unicode. We also miss borscht and kvass. Indicated. editor

)

Disable access to iCloud data through the browser

In the first beta version, Apple provided a new setting for the Apple ID, with which you could disable access to your own iCloud data in the browser at the address www.icloud.com on the connected device. The setting disappeared again in the second beta, but Apple is expected to bring it back in subsequent betas.

DualSense Adaptive Triggers

This version allows developers to support the adaptive wake feature of the Play Station 5 DualSense controller.

iCloud Keychain Notes

You can add notes to a keychain password entry. You can view your keychain entries in Settings > Passwords. The expansion of the keychain points to a future with fewer or no password entries.

There’s a new Apple Card widget that can be added to your home screen or Today view. Shows your current balance and spending activities. Apple has not yet brought its Apple Card to Germany.

Vaccination card support in the EU

The Health app now supports the EU format for COVID digital certificates, allowing you to add your vaccination card in the Health and Wallet apps in supported regions. The vaccination certificate also reaches the Apple Watch. In the third beta, the developer corrects errors when adding the vaccination certificate in certain countries such as France, Ireland and Singapore.

SOS settings disabled

With iOS 15.4, some users will receive a notification in the system settings to verify their SOS calls.

9to5Mac Reports
that only users without emergency contacts receive such notifications.

In the release notes
however, a bug is mentioned that disables SOS calls outside of India. It is possible that the new notification is caused by this error.

iOS 15.4: how to get it

If you’re interested in trying out iOS 15.4 (or iPadOS 15.4), you should do so on a device other than the iPhone or iPad you use every day.

Registered developers can

developer.apple.com/download
go and use the device you want to test the beta on. From there you can download a developer beta profile. Go to Settings > General > VPN & device management to enable the beta profile. Your iPhone or iPad will reboot and you can go to Settings > General > Software Update to download the latest version.

To participate in the public beta test (which usually happens a few hours to a day after the developers), go to the device you want to run the beta on.

beta.apple.com
. From there you can download a developer beta profile. Go to Settings > General > VPN & device management to enable the beta profile. Your iPhone or iPad will reboot and you can go to Settings > General > Software Update to download the latest version.

When will the final version of iOS 15.4 arrive?

If Apple follows the pattern of last year, we can draw some conclusions about the release date of iOS 15.4. The current beta is roughly the same as iOS 14.5 from 2021, as the first beta was released on February 1, 2021. However, Apple broke last year’s pattern with iOS 15.4 beta three: the first three betas followed a week apart: January 27, February 8, and February 15. even if you

of eight beta versions
runs out, the final version may appear as early as mid-March with such an update rate. The date for a keynote address on March 8 does not seem so far-fetched at first.

iOS 14.5 Beta 1 – February 1, 2021

iOS 14.5 beta 1 release 2: February 4, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 2 – February 16, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 3 – March 3, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 4 – March 15, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 5 – March 23, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 6 – March 31, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 7 – April 7, 2021

iOS 14.5 Beta 8 – April 13, 2021

Apple Keynote “Spring Loaded” – April 20, 2021

iOS 14.5 final – April 26, 2021