iOS 15.4 released: What's new in iOS 15.4

iOS and iPad OS 15.4 are huge updates that bring a lot of useful new features to the iPhone and iPad.

Face ID with a mask

In iOS 15.4, there is now an option to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask, without the need for additional hardware like an Apple Watch. Apple warns that full Face ID is a more secure option, but using Face ID with a mask is now available.

After updating to iOS 15.4, you can enable Face ID with a mask, and it is designed to use the area around your eyes for authentication. It works with glasses, but it is not compatible with sunglasses, and you have to look at the iPhone to turn on the mask.

Face ID with a mask is limited to iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models. Unlike the iPhone unlock feature that uses an Apple Watch to authenticate when you are wearing a mask, the Face ID with a mask option can be used to authenticate Apple Pay transactions and third-party app logins.

Emoticons

Spring iOS updates often bring new emoji characters, and iOS 15.4 is no exception. The update introduces support for Emoji 14, 37 more emojis, and 75 more skin tones, for a total of 112 new characters.

New faces include a melting face, a saluting face, a face with open eyes and hand on mouth, a face with peeking eyes, a face with a slanted mouth and a dotted face, while new emojis include bitten lips and speech bubbles.

There are several new hand emojis, such as heart shaped hand, right hand, left hand, palm down hand, palm up hand, hand with index finger and thumb crossed, and index finger pointing towards viewer, as well as an update to the handshake emoji.

A nest with eggs, an empty nest, an x-ray, a walking stick, a playground slide, a wheel, a ring buoy, a hamsa, a mirror ball, a jar, an ID card, and a low battery are new items, while plants and animals will include corals and lotuses.

Turn off notifications for personal automations in Shortcuts

For personal automations set up in the Shortcuts app, there is a new "Notifications While Running" option that lets you toggle notifications on or off for activated shortcuts. With this option, you can choose not to receive notifications when a shortcut is activated, which was not possible in earlier versions of iOS 15.

Runtime Notifications are only shown if the Ask before running setting is disabled.

The Shortcuts app also supports adding, removing, or querying tags using Reminders.

Apple Card widget

There is now an Apple Card widget in the Today view that can be added to the Home screen. The Apple Card widget shows your current balance and daily spending in different categories.

iCloud Keychain Notes

Apple Keychain users can now add notes to any password entry, bringing iCloud Keychain more in line with other password storage options like Password 1.

On iPhone and iPad, iCloud Keychain can be accessed in the Settings app, under Passwords.

Hide password alerts in iCloud Keychain

Apple provides security advice for weak or compromised passwords stored in iCloud Keychain, but in some cases you may not be able to change these passwords.

If this is the case, in iOS 15.4, you can dismiss these alerts by tapping the "x" button next to the alert. This action will hide the security suggestion so that it will not appear in the main "Passwords" section of the "Settings" app.

Custom email domain

iOS 15.4 expands support for the custom email domains feature available with paid iCloud+ plans and adds an option to set up a custom domain with iCloud Mail directly on iPhone.

TV app customization

Under Preferences in the TV section of the Settings app, you can now select a “Still Frame” or “Poster Art” option for the “Next Show” in the app. “Still Frame” shows a still frame from the content you’re watching, while “Poster Art” shows the main title image of a show or movie.

Key Website Login

Apple says the iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates add a new passkey feature that allows users to use an iPhone with a saved passkey to log in to passkey-compatible websites and apps on Mac and iPad.

This means that on sites that allow authentication via Face ID or Touch ID, you can use your iPhone to authenticate instead of having to enter your password.

SOS

By default, Emergency SOS now uses "Call on Hold" to make emergency calls. To initiate an emergency call, press and hold the Side and Volume buttons until the countdown starts. After that, the iPhone will call emergency services.

The previous feature of pressing five times to initiate a call is still available, but needs to be turned on in the Emergency SOS section of the Settings app.

Vaccination records in the health app

Verifiable Health Records now supports adding vaccination records in the EU digital COVID certificate format to the Health and Wallet apps, so people in the EU can add vaccination cards to the Wallet app for easy access.

Tap to pay on iPhone

iOS 15.4 adds support for the "Tap to Pay on iPhone" feature, which is designed to allow NFC-compatible iPhones to accept payments through Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets without the need for additional hardware.

The "Tap to Pay" feature is available for iPhone XS or later and allows supported iOS apps to accept iPhone-to-iPhone payments. At checkout, merchants can prompt customers to hold their iPhone, Apple Watch, contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet close to the merchant's iPhone to complete payment via NFC. Like Apple Pay, the feature supports gift cards and refunds.

Safari Translation

The translation feature in Safari now supports Italian and Chinese (Traditional).

Apple News

The Apple News app has enhanced discovery of audio content in the Today feed and Audio tab.

Podcast Filters

When watching a show in your library, you can filter episodes by Played, Unplayed, Downloaded, or Saved. You can also choose to go to any show and filter for a specific season.

Offline Siri Update

Apple says Siri is able to provide time and date information when offline on iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 or later.

New Siri voice

iOS 15.4 adds a new Siri voice for US users, which can be selected from the Settings app by going to "Siri & Search" and then selecting "Siri Voice."

Track-Proof Air Label Update

Apple in iOS 15.4 is adding the anti-tracking AirTag changes it announced in February. When setting up an AirTag or Find My accessory, there’s now a warning that the device is locked to an Apple ID and that using it to track someone without consent is a crime.

"You can find this item using Find My Network," the settings screen reads. "Using this item to track people without their consent is a crime in many parts of the world. This item is designed to be discoverable by victims and enables law enforcement to request identifying information about the owner."

With this warning, Apple wants to make it clear to those who use AirTags and Find My-compatible devices from third-party companies as tracking tools that such use cases are illegal and have criminal consequences.

Apple is also fixing a bug that caused unnecessary tracking confusion. AirPods may cause an "Unknown Accessory Alert" warning, which some people interpreted as a notification from an AirTag. AirTags are unable to display the "Unknown Accessory Detected" message, which is caused by AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, third-generation AirPods, and "Find My Network Accessory" in some cases.

Trade-in surface scan

Code in iOS 15.4 suggests that Apple is developing a "surface scan" feature that will be used when trading in an iPhone. The surface scan will likely be used to check the iPhone for damage such as scratches and dings to provide a more accurate trade-in value estimate.

magnifier

According to Apple, close-up shots in the Magnifier can now use the ultra-wide-angle camera on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to better highlight small objects.

Bug Fixes

Several bug fixes are also included in this update, as described below.

• The keyboard can insert periods between typed numbers
• The News widget in Today View might not open an article when tapped
• Photos and videos may not sync to iCloud Photo Library
• The Speak Screen accessibility feature may quit unexpectedly in the Books app
• Turning off Live Listen in Control Center may not turn it off

iPad-only updates

General Control

iPad OS 15.4 and mac OS Monterey 12.3 enable the long-awaited universal control feature, which is designed to allow you to use a single cursor and keyboard to control iPad and Mac logged into your iCloud account.

Universal Control is very easy to use and is enabled by default once you upgrade to iPad OS 15.4 and mac OS Monterey 12.3. For example, if you have a MacBook and iPad, the MacBook's trackpad and keyboard can also be used directly on the iPad's display.

iPadOS Sticky Notes app corner gestures

In the Notes section of the Settings app on iPad, there’s a new Corner Gestures section under Quick Notes. In this section, you can choose what the bottom-left swipe and bottom-right swipe do.

Options include "Quick Note" or "Screenshot," and there's also an option to turn off corner swipes.

Keyboard brightness

In iPadOS 15.4, there’s a new “Keyboard Brightness” option that’s added to Control Center so you can adjust the brightness of a connected keyboard using the backlight.

It works with Apple's Magic Keyboard, but does require adding it to Control Center by going to Control Center > Settings and tapping the "+" button next to "Keyboard Brightness."

From using Face ID with a mask to the official release of universal controls, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 have become increasingly mature. It's already March, and there are only three months left until the next WWDC. What new experiences will the new system bring us?