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

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming one week after Apple seeded the second betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4.

iOS 15
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.

iOS and iPadOS 15.4 introduce some of the most significant changes we've seen in an update since iOS 15 launched. On the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 13 models, there's now an option to use Face ID while wearing a mask with no Apple Watch required for authentication. It works just like Face ID, but it scans the area around your eyes when you're wearing a mask.

On ‌iPad‌, iPadOS 15.4 brings the long awaited Universal Control feature. 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. It's a feature that works seamlessly after installing the updates, and it is simple and intuitive to use.

There are 37 new emojis with the addition of Emoji 14 characters, so you can now use emojis that include melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

The second beta introduced support for the "Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌" feature that is designed to allow NFC-compatible iPhones to accept payments through Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, without requiring additional hardware.

tap to pay iphone
Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ is enabled in the iOS 15.4 beta, but it does require third-party providers to add support, so it is not yet available for use. There are no outward-facing signs of it that are visible to end users, but there's a new "PaymentReceived" sound file and images that show off the Tap to Pay interface.

There are signs that Apple may be planning to roll out support for digital IDs and driver's licenses in iOS 15.4. There isn't a ton of evidence for this at the current time, but there was a mention of the feature in the PassKit code in beta 2. "Find out when your driver's license or state ID is ready to use and get important updates about your ID," it reads.

Other new features include full 120Hz ProMotion support for app animations on ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models, EU vaccine certificates in the Wallet app, the ability to turn off notifications for Shortcuts automations, keyboard brightness controls in Control Center on the ‌iPad‌, an Apple Card widget, iCloud Keychain notes, support for adding custom email domains to ‌iCloud‌ Mail right on device, and a SharePlay option in the share sheet.

We have a full list of all of the features introduced in iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 in our dedicated guide highlighting everything new in the update.

Related Forum: iOS 15

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Top Rated Comments

Kiriko2 Avatar
42 months ago
Don't you dare "Use cellular data". ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
podycust Avatar
42 months ago
finally!!!

Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winxmac Avatar
42 months ago
February 16 2021 - iOS 14.5 beta 2 released
February 15 2022 - iOS 15.4 beta 3 released

April 20 2021 - iOS 14.5 RC released
[Insert Date] - iOS 15.4 RC released
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
42 months ago


finally!!!
Nice!!! I have no idea why it took Apple so long. This is a great addition :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Populus Avatar
42 months ago

*FaceID with mask
Thank you. Fixed.


The answer is NO
Thank you :confused:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gstevie Avatar
42 months ago

Mine said "Cellular Data".
Wonder if that's carrier specific wording - like "LTE" and "4G".
More likely the person is in the UK - we say “mobile data” not “cellular data”. It’s a mobile phone to us, not a cell phone.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)