Apple Seeds Release Candidate Version of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the release candidate versions 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 fifth betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4. The RCs represent the final versions of the updates that will be released to the public next week.

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.

Apple has also seeded RC versions of watchOS 8.5, tvOS 15.4, and macOS Monterey 12.3. All of the updates are expected to be released next week.

Update: The updates are now also available to public beta testers.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Available at Significantly Lower Price Until Next Week

Friday April 18, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
Apple TV+ is currently available at a much lower price than usual, but time is running out if you want to take advantage of the offer. In the U.S., new and qualified returning customers can subscribe to Apple TV+ for just $2.99 per month, for three months. Afterwards, regular pricing of $9.99 per month applies. The offer is available in the Apple TV app, and at tv.apple.com, through April...

Top Rated Comments

_Spinn_ Avatar
41 months ago
I’m ready for the release next week. Lots of good stuff coming.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
41 months ago
* iOS 15.4 RC (19E241) - March 8, 2022
* iPadOS 15.4 RC (19E241) - March 8, 2022

[SPOILER="iOS & iPadOS 15.4 Release Notes"]
[HEADING=2]Apple Pay[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* Developers can express payment network preference in PKPaymentRequest ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/passkit/pkpaymentrequest'). Network preference is determined by the order of supportedNetworks ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/passkit/pkpaymentrequest/1619329-supportednetworks'). This won’t override the user’s default card selection, but if the card is multi-SSD, then the network preference order determines which SSD is selected. (80827905)

[HEADING=2]Authentication[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* Support is added to the passkey technology preview, enabling signing in to passkey-compatible websites and apps on Mac and iPad using an iPhone with a saved passkey. (87998254)

[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Signing in to an iPad is limited to apps in this beta.

[HEADING=2]Developer Settings[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* You can now use Settings > Developer Settings > Run Throughput Test to view average results for ping packet loss, idle ping latency, and download and upload speeds. (81870452)

[HEADING=2]Game Controller[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* Support is now available for new DualSense adaptive trigger firmware features available via GCDualSenseAdaptiveTrigger ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/gamecontroller/gcdualsenseadaptivetrigger'). (87433163)

[HEADING=2]Health App[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* The Health app crashes when you attempt to onboard the Blood Oxygen feature from within the app. (87617635)
* If Health sharing is skipped when setting up an Apple Watch for a family member, it can’t be enabled later. (87210981)

[HEADING=2]HealthKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* Verifiable health records now support adding vaccination records in the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC) format to the Wallet and Health apps. (79917344)
* HealthKit query APIs in Swift now support async/await syntax, which simplifies the structure of code that previously used completion callbacks. (74040680)

[HEADING=2]Home[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Pairing of Thread accessories isn’t supported. (87959565)
* Matter accessories with multiple end points might be unreachable in the Home App. (86170578)
* Matter accessories may go to a “No Response” state after pairing with the Home App. (86497690)
Workaround: Remove the accessory from Home, reset the accessory, and add it back to Home. If the issue persists, remove your home hub from Home and re-add it. If the issue continues to persist, remove the home hub and create a new one.
* Adding a Matter accessory to a third-party app fails if an Apple Home doesn’t exist. (80341813)
Workaround: Launch the Home App and create a home hub first.

[HEADING=2]iTunes[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Purchasing or downloading content again from the iTunes Store and TV app might fail on some devices. (86772291)
Workaround: Rebooting the device may resolve the issue.

[HEADING=2]libc++[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* The following new C++20 and C++23 features are now implemented:

* C++20 library concepts defined in <concepts>.
* constexpr for std::swap() and swap-related functions.
* Miscellaneous constexpr-ification in the library.
* std::atomic now default initializes as expected.
* A .contains() method for associative containers.
* Added std::bind_front(). (88131816)


[HEADING=3]Deprecations[/HEADING]

* Some extensions in std::tuple were removed to fix bugs caused by those extensions:

* Tuples can no longer be constructed from fewer than the number of elements in the tuple. Previously, elements that weren’t specified were default-constructed; now this is a compiler error.
* A tuple can no longer be constructed from an array.
* The std::result_of and std::is_literal_type type traits are no longer available in C++20 mode, as specified in the Standard.


[HEADING=2]Messages[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* A conversation transcript won’t scroll after viewing a photo in QuickLook. (87855403)
Workaround: Back out of the conversation and then reopen it to restore scrolling.

[HEADING=2]Phone[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Emergency SOS “Call with 5 Presses” is disabled for all users outside of India to fix an issue that caused this setting to unintentionally default for some users. (86189447)

[HEADING=2]Settings[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* In the Throughput Test results, the Idle Ping Latency is reported in incorrect units. For example, an actual ping latency of 123.32 ms is shown as 0.12 ms. (87599982)

[HEADING=2]SharePlay[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* A new GroupActivities ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/GroupActivities') API allows you to present UI that enables starting a SharePlay session from within your app. (88099397)

[HEADING=2]StoreKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* SKTestSession ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekittest/sktestsession') has three new methods to simulate a subscription requiring price increase consent, simulate consenting to a pending price increase, and simulate declining a price increase in automated tests. (84556183)
* SKTestSession has two new Boolean properties to simulate billing retry and grace period in automated tests. You can identify and simulate the resolution of billing retry issues using the same APIs as interrupted purchases. (83956205)
* Users can now test the billing retry and grace period states using StoreKit Testing in Xcode. Use Xcode 13.3 or later to enable billing retry testing and toggle whether the app offers a grace period. Use isInBillingRetry ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptioninfo/renewalinfo/3749502-isinbillingretry') and gracePeriodExpirationDate ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptioninfo/renewalinfo/3749500-graceperiodexpirationdate') to handle these states in the app. (83938270)
* You can now test offer codes with StoreKit Testing in Xcode. Configure offers for codes in Xcode 13.3 or later, and test redeeming them using presentCodeRedemptionSheet() ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueue/3566726-presentcoderedemptionsheet'). (63692551)
* Users can test subscription price increase behavior using StoreKit Testing in Xcode. Use Xcode 13.3 or later to set a price increase, then use paymentQueueShouldShowPriceConsent(_ ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueuedelegate/3521328-paymentqueueshouldshowpriceconse'), showPriceConsentIfNeeded() ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueue/3521327-showpriceconsentifneeded'), and priceIncreaseStatus ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptioninfo/renewalinfo/3822292-priceincreasestatus') in the app. (58770817)
* StoreKit error types now conform to LocalizedError ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/localizederror'). (78735204)
* Some types in StoreKit now have a localizedDescription read-only Stringinstance property. This property can be used to get a human-readable description of the value, localized for the device’s current locale. These types include: Product.ProductType ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/producttype'), Product.SubscriptionInfo.RenewalState ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptioninfo/renewalstate'), expirationReason ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptioninfo/renewalinfo/3749499-expirationreason'), priceIncreaseStatus ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptioninfo/renewalinfo/3822292-priceincreasestatus'), Transaction.OfferType ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/transaction/offertype'), Product.SubscriptionOffer.OfferType ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptionoffer/offertype'), Product.SubscriptionOffer.PaymentMode ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptionoffer/paymentmode'), Product.SubscriptionPeriod.Unit ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/product/subscriptionperiod/unit'), Transaction.RevocationReason ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/transaction/revocationreason'), and Transaction.OwnershipType ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/transaction/ownershiptype'). (78735060)
* SKAdNetwork ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skadnetwork') implementation can now be unit tested using the StoreKit Test ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekittest') framework. You can use the SKAdTestSession class to test the validity of ad impressions, update conversion values on test postbacks, and receive test postbacks at the server. This class also displays the URL to which the optional developer postback is sent. (59571961)

[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* When testing with StoreKit Testing in Xcode, the following APIs don’t work in the simulator: presentCodeRedemptionSheet() ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueue/3566726-presentcoderedemptionsheet'), paymentQueueShouldShowPriceConsent(_ ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueuedelegate/3521328-paymentqueueshouldshowpriceconse'), and showPriceConsentIfNeeded() ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/storekit/skpaymentqueue/3521327-showpriceconsentifneeded'). (85982859)
Workaround: Test these APIs using an iOS device.

[HEADING=2]UIKit[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features[/HEADING]

* All animations created with UIView ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiview') block APIs or UIViewPropertyAnimator ('https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiviewpropertyanimator') run at up to 120 Hz on iPhones with ProMotion displays. (86175551)

[/SPOILER]

These also came out today

* watchOS 8.5 RC (19T242) - March 8, 2022
* tvOS 15.4 RC (19L440) - March 8, 2022
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dontwalkhand Avatar
41 months ago
Nothing on state IDs :(. ?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
telo123 Avatar
41 months ago
[HEADING=2]RC for the Public Beta has also been released.[/HEADING]
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmatuk Avatar
41 months ago
This update it's taking it's sweet time on my 12 Pro
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Böhme417 Avatar
41 months ago

Nothing on state IDs :(. ?
Doesn't look like it
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)