Apple Seeds Fifth Betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded the fifth 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 fourth 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 added 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 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.

In the fourth beta, Apple added a new Siri voice for American users and support for AirTag anti-stalking features announced in February. When setting up an AirTag or a Find My accessory, there is 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 locate this item using the ‌Find My‌ network," reads the setup screen. "Using this item to track people without their consent is a crime in many regions around the world. This item is designed to be detected by victims and to enable law enforcement to request identifying information about the owner."

There are also 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

ghostface147 Avatar
40 months ago
Downloading now, not seeing it, battery sucks, my specific problem isn't fixed, safari is snappy, Adguard is broken. I am curious though how invites haven't been sent out yet for their March event, so I guess they're not ready not.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ajfahey Avatar
40 months ago
I want more emojis. Said virtually no one.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonathanLevine Avatar
40 months ago
Think we need to stop listening to Mark Gurman for event dates…he got last year’s event date wrong too. Disappointed as hell that it looks like we’re not getting an event next week. Desperately want to upgrade my Mac mini. Damn.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Powerbooky Avatar
40 months ago

Hey everyone, I would like to update to iPadOS 15.4 but I have heard that it drains the battery on iPad Pro 11”. I’m fine on 15.3 but if anyone can share their battery performance on 15.4 I would appreciate it. Thank you.
Every update drains the battery in the first days, depending on the amount of data that is on the device. It seems that iOS is doing some (re)indexing and cleaning up in the background after each update, and it sometimes take hours or even days. 15.4 probably will drain the battery about the same as 15.3 or a bit more.

I'd rather like 15.4 to be way more responsive. On my iPhone 15.3.1 is often slow or even freezes the device on crusial moments. Camera app often freezes on moments I'd like to take a picture. After it finally made one, its displayed 10-30 seconds later. In video mode freezes happen too, causing gaps in records.
And it happens on all other apps too... the Music app often the UI doesn't react. Playback starts slow, even when the content is already on the phone.
A hard reset sometimes helps, but in the course of a week it slows down again. Almost like a memory leak problem.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
40 months ago

This fantasy is over, no need to discuss it in all threads.
It’s not really a fantasy, it’s pretty clear that:
A: Apple will be holding some sort of press conference/event within the next month or so.
B: That event could take place on March 8, with invitations going out anytime between right now and March 7.
C: it could also be on any other business day within this month or next month, with Tuesdays being the most likely day of the event.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
40 months ago

What's wrong with safari?
Using a Mini 6 running beta 4, I go into setup and clear web cache, launch Safari, change to private browsing, go to this blu ray.com web page ('https://www.blu-ray.com/deals/?category=bluray#2'), scroll down fairly fast see many rows of jpegs never loaded. Firefox does the same thing.

Does this both in Mobile or desktop views. (aA)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)