Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 16.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming a day after the launch of tvOS 16.4.
Registered developers are able to download the tvOS 16.5 update by downloading a profile on the Apple TV using Xcode.
tvOS updates are usually minor, focusing on internal bug fixes and improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes. There is no word as of yet what's included in the tvOS 16.5 update, but we'll update this article if we find anything new.
Apple shares some information on tvOS releases in its tvOS support document, which is updated after each tvOS launch.
Though we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon release.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 9.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software update coming a day after the release of watchOS 9.4.
To install the watchOS 9.5 update, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center.
Once installed, watchOS 9.5 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update. To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it has to be placed on the charger, and it will need to be in range of the iPhone it is paired with.
We don't know what's included in the watchOS 9.5 update as of now, but we'll update this article if anything notable is found in the beta.
The Aqara Video Doorbell G4 is the first HomeKit Secure Video smart doorbell that can operate via battery power alone, and comes as the first full-featured HomeKit Secure Video smart doorbell in many regions around the world.
Beyond HomeKit Secure Video, the Doorbell G4 offers a wide range of features and capabilities, including 1080p video recording, a 162-degree wide-angle lens, two-way audio communication, motion detection, night vision capabilities, weather resistance, support for microSD cards up to 512GB, and more.
Priced at $119.99, the Doorbell G4 comes with a chime repeater speaker, USB-A to USB-C cable, 20-degree wedge, Philips head screwdriver, six AA batteries, two wall screws and anchors, and two wedge screws.
Design
The Aqara Video Doorbell G4 has a sleek and modern design with a Black or Space Gray-like "Shadow" finish. The large circle at the top of the doorbell contains the 1080p camera, an LED status light, a motion sensor that can detect movement within a five-meter range, and a microphone for two-way audio communication. The button at the bottom is illuminated by an LED around its edge and satisfyingly clicks when pressed. A small speaker for audio output and a sprung screw that releases the backplate are located on the sides.
Inside, there is space for six AA batteries, wires for continuous direct power, and a small button that triggers the anti-tamper alarm. The back of the doorbell is adhesive, meaning you can avoid damaging walls with screws if you are happy to rely on it, and has two screw holes for more secure attachment. You can also use the optional angled mounting bracket if you want to get a better framed image of anyone standing directly in front of your door.
The chime repeater module's design matches the Doorbell G4, adding an LED indicator, a microSD card slot, a USB-C port for charging, and a Menu bottom. Pressing this button toggles the bell noise on and off, while holding it down for longer can reset network settings, or reset to factory settings.
The doorbell is made of durable plastic and Aqara says that it has an IPX3 rating, which should mean that it can stand up to all but the most extreme weather conditions. That being said, I am not sure that the device would be able to withstand significant external force. While this isn't an issue for most installations, if it fell, I would not be surprised if it broke entirely. This lightweight construction is also evident with the chime, which lacks substantial internal components.
Moreover, if the chime did break and become unusable, purchasing a new one is not an option because the G4 and the chime are pre-paired. The chime links to HomeKit and the 2.4GHz frequency of your home Wi-Fi network, rather than the doorbell itself. The doorbell connects to a unique Wi-Fi frequency generated by the repeater, which can improve overall reliability.
Set Up
The process of adding the Doorbell G4 to the Aqara app and HomeKit is essentially the same as with any other Aqara device. Since it's a WiFi device rather than a Zigbee child device, you do not need to connect it to a hub, meaning that the process is effectively the same as adding an Aqara hub or camera accessory.
After installing the six AA batteries and ensuring that the chime repeater is powered, you need to open the Aqara app and tap "Add Accessory." The app then guides you through the setup process, which is relatively straightforward. It will also update the device's firmware if necessary during this process.
You have the option of adding the Doorbell G4 to Apple's Home app and using HomeKit Secure video either by scanning the HomeKit code on the repeater or by following the setup process within the Aqara app. While the Home app has basic video recording options, the Aqara app provides a wide range of options. You can customize settings such as motion sensing, video resolution, the LED indicator, and more to meet your specific needs. Once the setup process is complete, you can use the Aqara Video Doorbell G4 with Apple HomeKit to monitor your door, receive notifications, and create automations.
Functionality
The Doorbell G4 has a 16:9 field of view, so it may not capture things like packages left on a porch unless the it can be set back quite a bit. This may be an issue for some users who need a square view similar to many other video doorbell cameras. Even so, the 16:9 view is still good for capturing a wider view.
Notifications and integration with the Apple TV and HomePod work perfectly, sounding off a chime when pressed and immediately showing the video feed on a TV. Native Apple Home features like facial recognition, activity zones, automations, and motion detection also work very well, but Aqara discourages use of the motion sensor for an extended period if you plan to use battery power alone.
The doorbell's speaker is not particularly clear, but it serves its purpose and this is normal for products in this category. The repeater can get very loud and you can set your preferred volume in the Aqara app.
HomeKit Secure Video does not record all of the time, so if this is your planned use-case, you will need to use Aqara's app, which also enables additional facial recognition and local storage options. The Doorbell G4 will also support Matter when the specification for cameras is released.
Bottom Line
Overall, the Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4 is a richly featured smart doorbell with excellent HomeKit integration. The Home app, automations, facial recognition, and notifications work flawlessly with the doorbell. For those who want a smart doorbell but are hesitant to set up a wired connection, the G4 is also an ideal solution, especially as it is the only battery-operated HomeKit Security Video smart doorbell on the market.
Personally, I would have preferred the doorbell to have a more square field-of-view so that it can more easily capture deliveries that are left outside, rather than its 16:9 framing that can sometimes cut off the bottom of the frame compared to other smart doorbells. I also would have appreciated it if the doorbell was rechargeable via USB-C rather than using AA batteries, especially since the six AA batteries only last around four months.
With options for battery operations or wired power, multiple mounting possibilities, and dozens of software settings, the Aqara Video Doorbell G4 is surprisingly versatile. Its sleek design, seamless HomeKit Secure Video support, and reliable operation make the doorbell a great choice for anyone in the Apple ecosystem looking to monitor their front door.
Apple cancelled its planned AirPower accessory four years ago this week, but a similar solution is said to remain on the company's long-term roadmap.
Announced at the iPhone X event in 2017, AirPower was a wireless charging mat designed to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods case simultaneously, regardless of each device's position on the mat. Apple said the accessory would be available in 2018, but it never launched and was ultimately cancelled in a rare move by Apple.
"After much effort, we've concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project," said Apple's former hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio, in a statement shared on March 29, 2019. "We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward."
Apple never provided a specific reason for the cancellation, but it is believed that the overlapping charging coils inside the AirPower led to overheating.
In his newsletter last October, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said he still believes that an AirPower-like accessory will "eventually come to fruition," but it might be years away. In the meantime, the only multi-device charging mat sold by Apple is the MagSafe Duo Charger, which only works with two devices at once and has fixed charging positioning.
Apple today officially launched the much anticipated Apple Music Classical app on the iPhone, allowing Apple Music subscribers to download and access an app dedicated just to classical music. We went hands-on with the new app to give MacRumors readers a closer look.
Design wise, the app is similar to Apple Music, but it is entirely dedicated to classical titles. The Browse section, for example, is broken down into Composers, Genres, Periods, Conductors, Orchestras, Soloists, Choirs, and Ensembles, making it easier to discover the specific classical content that you're looking for.
A Listen Now section offers up New Releases, Spatial Audio content, and other recommendations in various genres, plus there is a dedicated Library for aggregating saved content. A search function makes it simple to find something specific.
All in all, the app will be familiar to Apple Music subscribers, and it is in fact very simple. Unfortunately, it is limited to the iPhone at the current time, with no Mac or iPad version available. It's also not available on CarPlay.
Have you tried Apple Music Classical? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Apple today announced that it will begin inviting "randomly selected users" to use a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later via the Wallet app and an email sent to their Apple ID. Apple Pay Later is available in the U.S. and requires iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.
Apple Pay Later will be expanded to all eligible iPhone users over the age of 18 in the U.S. in the "coming months," according to Apple.
Announced at WWDC 2022 last June, Apple Pay Later is a "buy now, pay later" financing option that lets qualifying customers in the U.S. split a purchase made with Apple Pay into four equal payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees to pay. Users can apply for Apple Pay Later loans of $50 to $1,000 to be used towards online and in-app purchases made with Apple Pay on the iPhone and iPad, according to Apple.
iPhone users can apply for a loan in the Wallet app with no impact to their credit. After entering the amount they would like to borrow and agreeing to the Apple Pay Later terms, a soft credit check will be initiated during the application process. After a user is approved, Apple Pay Later will be available as an option when using Apple Pay.
Apple Pay Later is built into the Wallet app on the iPhone, allowing users to view, track, and manage loans in one place. Users can view upcoming payments on a calendar and choose to receive upcoming payment notifications via the Wallet app and email. Users must link a debit card as their loan repayment method, with credit cards not accepted.
Apple Pay Later credit assessment and lending is handled by Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of Apple. The service is based on the Mastercard Installments program, so merchants that accept Apple Pay do not need to do anything to implement it.
Following the launch of Apple Music Classical, the first TV ad for the classical music streaming service has been released. The 30-second video features pianist Alice Sara Ott and conductor Karina Canellakis performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1.
"Apple Music Classical is a dedicated app that is great for classical experts as well as anyone who is new to classical, with the largest classical music selection in the world, the very best search and browse capabilities, the most premium sound experience with Spatial Audio, and thousands of exclusive recordings," said Apple Music chief Oliver Schusser.
Apple Music Classical offers over five million classical music tracks and is included with a standard Apple Music subscription at no additional cost. The app is available for iPhones running iOS 15.4 or later, with no iPad version available and an Android app coming soon. For more details about the app, read our coverage from earlier today.
Sonos this week updated its iPhone and iPad app with support for Apple Music spatial audio playback on compatible Sonos speakers and sound bars, including the newly-released Era 300, the Arc and Arc SL, and the second-generation Beam.
Spatial audio simulates surround sound, making it seem like the audio is coming from all around you for a 360-degree listening experience. Apple Music offers thousands of songs in spatial audio, which are labeled with a Dolby Atmos badge in the Sonos app after updating to version 15.2, available now on the App Store.
Sonos launched new Era 300 and Era 100 speakers today with AirPlay 2 support for wirelessly streaming audio from Apple devices. The speakers were announced earlier this month, with more details and pricing outlined in our previous coverage.
Verizon has been the best place to find discounts on Apple's trio of MagSafe Chargers so far in 2023, and its deals are still around as we head into April. You'll find the year's best prices on the MagSafe Charger, MagSafe Duo Charger, and MagSafe Battery Pack, and you don't need to be a Verizon user to order these products from the retailer's website.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Verizon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Besides an occasional sale at Amazon, Verizon has been one of the only retailers to consistently discount all three of these accessories over the past few months. The MagSafe Duo Charger is at the best price we've ever tracked, while the MagSafe Battery Pack and regular MagSafe Charger are just a few dollars higher than their best-ever prices, so they're still solid deals.
Don't forget to check out Verizon's deal on AirPods as well, including a new all-time low price on the AirPods 3. Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.
Lighting company Signify has indicated that its software update bringing Matter support to the Philips Hue Bridge will not appear in the first quarter of 2023 as originally planned.
When Matter was officially launched in November 2022, Philips Hue declared itself a supporter of the new smart home standard. At the time, Signify said a software update that would bring compatibility to its Philips Hue lineup would be available to all users in the first quarter of 2023, which comes to a close this Friday.
But responding to a request by hueblog.com on Monday for more information, the company offered the following update:
For the launch of Matter, we are working together with many partners in the smart home industry. With Philips Hue, we always focus on convincing quality to meet our customers' expectations. Therefore, we will take a little more time than originally planned for the Philips Hue Bridge software update before making it available to all consumers. We will inform you as soon as we have a concrete date for the release of the Matter software update.
Matter is a connectivity standard that enables smart home accessories to work together seamlessly across multiple platforms, including Apple's HomeKit, Amazon's Alexa, Google's Home, and others. For households with multiple smart home platforms or different smartphone brands, it means the Matter lights can be controlled from any device. Both Android and iPhone users can control a Matter-enabled accessory from their respective devices, provided the proper hub setup is available.
Apple added support for Matter on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16, and tvOS 16.1 last year, with a HomePod or Apple TV required to control Matter accessories in the Home app or with Siri.
Twitter will prevent posts from unverified accounts from appearing in its "For You" algorithmic feed starting Saturday, April 15, CEO Elon Musk announced on Tuesday. The new policy means that only posts originating from paid-for Twitter Blue accounts will be included in the platform's stream of recommended tweets.
In a post announcing the impending change, Musk said the decision to no longer recommend tweets from accounts that don't have a blue verified badge was "the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over."
In the same tweet, Musk revealed that the ability to vote in polls on the social media platform would also require verification for the same reason. "It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle," claimed the Twitter chief.
In an earlier post, Musk said that paid verification significantly increases the cost of using bots and makes it easier to identify them.
Twitter relaunched its Twitter Blue subscription option in December after the initial launch saw accounts with blue checkmarks being used to impersonate businesses, celebrities, and other high-profile individuals. The only requirement to get a blue checkmark was to spend $8 (or $11 if subscribing from the iOS app).
To prevent impersonations, Twitter Blue subscribers now receive a blue checkmark next to their name only after they verify their phone number and their account has been reviewed.
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.
Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
Subscribers who change their username, display name, or profile photo, temporarily lose the blue checkmark until their account is reviewed again. However, Twitter does not ask for any form of official identification to verify ownership at any point in the sign-up process, which some users argue calls into question Musk's logic for blocking unverified accounts from its "For You" tab.
Twitter last week also said that it would begin to wind down its "legacy" verified program and remove "legacy verified" blue badges on April 1.
Twitter Blue has become a tentpole policy of the platform as Musk seeks to find new ways to generate revenue. Since the Tesla CEO took over, the market price of the company is said to have tanked. According to a New York Times report, last week Musk told employees in an email memo that Twitter is now valued at $20 billion, which is less than half of the $44 billion that Musk paid for the company last year.
Update: The Twitter chief appears to have backtracked on his new paid-for "For You" policy following a user backlash – Musk tweeted later in the day: "Forgot to mention that accounts you follow directly will also be in For You, since you have explicitly asked for them."
Apple has announced the release of Apple Music Classical, which is now available to download in the App Store. Apple originally planned to launch a classical music app in 2022, but the app was not announced until this year.
"We love music — that's really what we're all about — and classical music is foundational to music of all genres," said Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats. "Apple Music Classical is a dedicated app that is great for classical experts as well as anyone who is new to classical, with the largest classical music selection in the world, the very best search and browse capabilities, the most premium sound experience with Spatial Audio, and thousands of exclusive recordings. We believe this is the very best classical music streaming experience available anywhere, and for us, this is just the beginning."
The new Apple Music Classical app offers Apple Music and Apple One subscribers access to over five million classical music tracks, including new high-quality releases, in addition to thousands of exclusive albums, and other features like composer bios and deep dives on key works.
Over 700 playlists are available to guide listeners through 800 years of music, with more to be added, according to Apple. Beginners can start with The Story of Classical audio guides, which blend expert commentary and selected works to introduce key composers, periods, instruments, and classical terminology.
Meanwhile for devotees, there's the chance to go behind the scenes of selected recordings as leading classical artists offer track-by-track audio commentary. Every week, Apple Music Classical's hand-picked Hidden Gems will also highlight a selection of lesser-known works, while Composer Undiscovered playlists promise to bring a new perspective to famous names.
The app offers a simpler interface for interacting with classical music specifically. Unlike the existing Apple Music app, Apple Music Classical allows users to search by composer, work, conductor, catalog number, and more. Users can get more detailed information from editorial notes and descriptions.
Apple Music Classical also features lossless audio of up to 24 bit/192 kHz throughout the service so listeners can experience the nuances of every performance, while a Spatial Audio catalog adds new albums every week as legendary recordings are remastered and contemporary performances are captured in Spatial Audio.
Additionally, Apple Music has partnered with classical institutions including the Berlin Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, Opéra national de Paris, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Vienna Philharmonic — to bring Apple Music Classical listeners new and exclusive content and recordings.
Apple Music Classical will also host several live performances featuring some of these partners at Apple Store locations around the world as part of the Today at Apple programming beginning in March 2023. Users can sign up to Today at Apple events via Apple's website.
Apple Music Classical is based on Primephonic, a classical music streaming service that Apple acquired in 2021. Apple Music Classical will only support iOS devices running iOS 15.4 or newer, and an Android version of the app is coming soon, according to Apple. Apple made the app available for pre-order earlier this month.
The app is currently available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Dutch. Note that the app is not available in China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey.
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December.
After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable performance, especially for smart homes with a lot of smart accessories installed.
To perform the upgrade, open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, tap or click the ellipsis button (three encircled dots), then select Home Settings. Select Software Update, tap or click Learn More under "Home Upgrade Available," then follow the prompts. Users who upgraded previously will not see this option and don't need to do anything, since their Home architecture is already up-to-date.
Ahead of the launch of iOS 16 last year, Apple promised a new architecture for the Home app, and briefly offered it following the release of iOS 16.2. But the option was temporarily pulled after users reported issues such as HomeKit devices becoming stuck in an "updating" or "configuring" status, devices going missing entirely, invitations to share the Home with other users failing, HomeKit Secure Video recording not working, and more.
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music.
In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:
Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music Classical app is designed to support the complex data structure of classical music.
Classical music often involves multiple musicians recording works that have been recorded many times before and are referred to by different names. For example, from the formal Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 to the popular byname of Moonlight Sonata, or in multiple languages, such as Mondschein Sonata in German. Such complexities mean that classical music fans have been ill-served by streaming platforms. Until now. A distinct app, included with an Apple Music subscription, gives these classical music lovers the editorial and catalog content they've been missing.
Only a brand-new app — with specialized features and a beautiful interface designed for the genre — could remove the complexity and make classical music easily searchable, browsable, and accessible for beginners and experts alike.
The support document provides answers to some other frequently asked questions about the app, which began rolling out today. Much of the information relates to how the Apple Music Classical app integrates with the standard Apple Music app.
Apple also shared a video overview of the app on YouTube:
Apple Music Classical offers over five million classical music tracks and is free to use with a standard Apple Music subscription on iOS 15.4 and later. The app is based on Primephonic, a classical music streaming service that Apple acquired in 2021. The app is available for the iPhone only at launch, with an Android version coming soon.
Apple today announced that the second-generation HomePod and the HomePod mini will be available to order in Singapore starting Thursday, March 30, with deliveries to customers and in-store availability set to begin Friday, April 6.
Apple had discontinued the full-size HomePod in 2021, but the company introduced a second-generation model in January. The new HomePod features a similar design as the original smart speaker, with a larger backlit touch surface and a few other improvements. Despite having two fewer tweeters, reviews found the new HomePod sounds virtually the same as the original, but Siri still has shortcomings compared to other virtual assistants.
The smaller HomePod mini was introduced in 2020 and has not received any hardware changes since beyond new color options. The launch of the HomePod mini in Singapore next month likely rules out a second-generation model launching in the near future.
Apple today released iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, two updates that come after several weeks of beta testing. iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 add a long list of new features, ranging from updated emoji characters to web push notifications on the iPad.
In this guide, we've highlighted all of the changes introduced in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.
New Emoji Characters
iOS 16.4 includes new emoji characters that were first approved in September 2022 by the Unicode Consortium. Added emojis include shaking head, pink heart, blue heart, gray heart, donkey, moose, black bird, goose, wing, jellyfish, hyacinth, pea pod, ginger, fan, comb, flute, maracas, and a number of left and right facing hand options. There are 21 new emoji in all.
This is a feature that Apple first announced at WWDC with the introduction of iOS 16, and it is now ready to start rolling out. Web apps added to a user's home screen can request permission to receive push notifications through a "subscribe" button or another similar direct interaction.
As on the Mac, the iPhone or iPad will prompt the user to give the web app permission to send notifications, and the notifications can be managed on a per web app basis in the Notifications section of the Settings app. Notifications from web apps work exactly like notifications from other apps, showing up on the Lock Screen, in Notification Center, and on a paired Apple Watch.
To receive push notifications for a website, you will need to add it to the Home Screen. Web developers need to implement support for the feature, so it may not be working on all websites right away.
Focus Support for Web Push Notifications
Notifications for Home Screen web apps can be incorporated into Focus, so they can be rolled into Daily Summaries and there are options for configuring where and how to receive the web notifications.
Users who add the same web app to their Home Screen on more than one iPhone or iPad will see Focus mode automatically apply to all of them.
Badges for Home Screen Web Apps
Web apps added to the Home Screen can display badges to make users aware of alerts and notifications, similar to badges for regular apps. Badges are shown after a user gives permission to allow notifications, with web apps displaying the current badge count.
Add to Home Screen for Third-Party Browsers
Third-party browsers like Chrome can now let users add websites and web apps to the Home Screen from the Share menu.
Beta Opt-In Changes
With iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, those who are enrolled in Apple's developer program are able to turn on developer betas directly from the Software Update section in the Settings app.
This will eliminate the need to install a profile from the Developer Center in order to get developer betas, simplifying the beta downloading process. There is also an option for public beta testers as well who want to install updates with less hassle.
The change will, however, prevent non-developers from being able to install the developer beta as each installation will need to be linked to an Apple ID associated with a developer profile. Developers and public beta testers will be able to use a different Apple ID than their main Apple ID, if an account is separate.
Note that this will put an end to the public sharing of developer beta profiles as installing a developer beta will require each person to be signed into an Apple ID linked to a developer account.
Apple Books Page Turning Animation
In iOS 16, Apple tweaked Apple Books to eliminate the traditional page turning animation that had been used since the early days of the app, a move that upset some Apple Books users.
iOS 16.4 reintroduces the page turning animation as an option, which is a welcome change for the Apple Books readers who missed it. In the Themes and Settings section of the Books app, there are now three options for page turning: Curl, Slide, and None.
Slide is the iOS 16 default, Curl is the old iOS 15 and earlier animation, and None is an even simpler animation that just shifts from page to page with little fanfare. These features are also available in iPadOS 16.4 for those who read on the iPad.
In the Software Update section of the Home app, iPhone and iPad users who have not yet upgraded to the new architecture are seeing a "Home Upgrade Available" option after updating to iOS 16.4.
The new HomeKit architecture is meant to improve the reliability and efficiency of communication between smart home accessories and Apple devices.
The initial launch caused some HomeKit devices to go missing from HomeKit setups or to be stuck with a "configuring/updating" status. It also resulted in invitations to share the Home with others failing, and it broke HomeKit Secure Video recording for some.
Podcasts
Apple made several updates to the Podcasts app. Channels access is available in the Library section, and Up Next now lets you resume episodes, start saved episodes, and remove episodes you want to skip.
For CarPlay, there's now an option to pick up where you left off on a podcast with Up Next, or find new podcast options in Browse.
Apple Music App Profile
There's now a prominent button for accessing your profile in the Apple Music app, which makes it easier to get to profile settings.
AppleCare Coverage Overview
In the Settings app, there's an updated "Coverage" interface that shows you the warranty information of your iPhone and connected devices like Apple Watches and AirPods.
All of the listed products have a small icon next to them.
Emergency SOS via Satellite
The iOS 16.4 update expands Emergency SOS via Satellite on the iPhone 14 models to Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
Wallet App
iOS 16.4 introduces an order tracking widget for the Home Screen, which can be used to track purchases made with Apple Pay that are available in the Wallet app. This feature was introduced with iOS 16, and it works with select vendors that support the function.
Apple also now allows users to share order information through a dedicated Share button available in the Wallet app.
PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Controller Support
iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, tvOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3 add support for the customizable PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless Controller that was introduced in January.
Shortcuts
There are options in Shortcuts for creating workflows that lock a device's screen and control the always-on display, plus there is an option to automatically enable or disable Stage Manager on the iPad. Apple has also added an option to have Siri announce Notifications as an action that can be incorporated into a Shortcut. There are more than a dozen new shortcut actions in all, and a bunch more actions that have been updated.
New Shortcut Actions:
Find Books searches your library for books or PDFs matching a given title, author, genre, purchase date, or content type on iOS and macOS
Intercom broadcasts announcements to your home on iOS and watchOS
Set VPN connects, disconnects, or sets the On Demand setting for any VPN on iOS and macOS
Set AirDrop Receiving sets the AirDrop Receiving preference to Everyone, Contacts Only, or Nobody on iOS and macOS
Set Stage Manager enables or disables and changes the settings for Stage Manager on iPadOS and macOS
Set Announce Notifications toggles the Announce Notifications setting on iOS and watchOS
Set Silence Unknown Callers toggles the Silence Unknown Callers setting on iOS
Set Night Shift and Set True Tone toggle the display settings on iOS and macOS
Set Always-On Display toggles the Always-On Display on supported iOS devices
Find Apps finds and filters apps installed on macOS
Find Displays finds and filters displays on macOS
Shut Down, Restart, and Lock Display are now available on iOS and macOS
Log Out, Sleep and Put Display to Sleep are now available on macOS
Updated Shortcut Actions:
Move Window now allows moving a window to a display on macOS
Ask for Input has a new "Allow Multiple Lines" option, which can be disabled for single-line text input
Find Contacts now filters by birthday more accurately
Get Device Details can now get the OS build number
Get Device Details now rounds numbers, including the current battery level, volume, and brightness, to remove unnecessary decimal digits
Set Playback Destination now works when run from Siri
Play Music once again resumes currently playing music if no music is passed as input
Run AppleScript can now produce dictionaries as output from AppleScript records
Nothing now produces a variable with zero items, instead of producing no variable at all
Repeat can now be set to run 0 times
Content Previews for Mastodon in Messages
When you send a link to a Mastodon post to someone in the Messages app, it now displays a preview of the content that was shared rather than simply a link with an image.
5G for Turkey
5G support has been enabled in Turkey with iOS 16.4.
Tips User Guides
The Tips app now displays user guides for the iPhone and other devices that you might use with an iPhone, including Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod. In previous versions of iOS, the Tips app only offered up the iPhone User Guide.
Focus Mode
There's an always-on display filter that can be enabled for a Focus mode.
5G Standalone Support for T-Mobile
5G iPhone owners who use T-Mobile can turn on a new 5G option that allows them to connect to the carrier's 5G Standalone network.
The 5G Standalone network from T-Mobile launched last November and is expected to allow for connection speeds up to 3Gb/s on Samsung smartphones. T-Mobile could soon expand the faster connectivity option to other devices like the iPhone.
More Granular Timing on Satellite Availability for Emergency SOS
For the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, Apple will now inform users of when the next satellite will be passing by in more detail. Apple used to provide an "Available Soon" and Available in X amount of time options for the feature, but now will give specific hour and minute timelines.
Next Satellite Available in [x]Hour(s) and [x]Minute(s)
Next Satellite Available in [x]Hour(s)
Next Satellite Available in [x]Minute(s)
Next Satellite Available in Less Than 1 Minute
Always On Display Settings
Apple made some minor tweaks to the Always On Display section in the Settings app on iPhone 14 Pro models. The toggle to turn off Always On Display is now listed under the toggles for showing wallpaper and notifications, rather than above.
Voice Isolation for Cellular Calls
When you make a cellular call, you can now turn on Voice Isolation to cut down on background noise. Voice Isolation was previously available for FaceTime and other VoIP services, and it makes a big difference in call quality.
It can isolate your voice to ensure that the person on the other end of the call can hear you even in a noisy environment.
To turn on Voice Isolation, start a call and then swipe down from the Control Center. Tap on the Mic Mode option and then choose Voice Isolation.
Duplicate Image Removal for iCloud Shared Photo Library
The option to remove duplicate photos that Apple introduced in iOS 16 has been expanded to the iCloud Shared Photo Library in iOS 16.4. If you have an iCloud Shared Photo Library and there are duplicate photos uploaded by multiple people, you can to to the Utilities album and choose the "Duplicates" option to merge them.
VoiceOver
Those who use VoiceOver can now activate it for the maps function in the Weather app.
Accessibility Settings for Flashing Lights
For those who are affected by strobe effects or flashing lights, there is an accessibility setting that can dim video when those effects are detected.
Crash Detection Optimizations
Apple has added additional Crash Detection optimizations for the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro to prevent the devices from accidentally triggering Crash Detection in a situation where an accident has not occurred.
Apple Pencil in iPadOS 16.4
In iPadOS 16.4, the Apple Pencil hover feature gains tilt and azimuth support for viewing a mark at any angle before it is made. The addition is available in Notes and other supported apps on the fourth-generation 11-inch iPad and the sixth-generation 12.9-inch iPad.
Apple has also fixed an issue that could impact Apple Pencil responsiveness when drawing or writing in the notes app.
New AirPods Coming?
There are signs of unreleased AirPods in the iOS 16.4 code, including a mention of AirPods with a model number of A3048 and an AirPods Case with a model number of A2968. That does not correspond to any known version of the AirPods, but according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, these accessories could be for an updated USB-C version of the AirPods Pro 2.
Kuo believes that Apple is working on AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, which is in line with rumors that the company is planning to transition to USB-C for the iPhone this year. The standard AirPods will not be updated with USB-C at this time, with Apple instead planning to wait for an AirPods 4 refresh.
Apple Card High-Yield Savings Account
The iOS 16.4 update lays the groundwork for the high-yield savings account for Apple Card owners, which Apple announced back in October. Code in iOS 16.4 has references to routing and account numbers, current balance, interest earned, data management, funds available for withdrawal, and more.
Apple will encourage customers to sign up for a savings account by providing a message that says "Transfer your Apple Cash balance to your savings account and start earning interest today" and "You can transfer up to [amount] from Apple Cash to your savings account in a single transaction and start earning interest today.
As with the Apple Card, the high-yield savings account will be offered through Goldman Sachs. Apple Card owners will be able to opt-in to having their Daily Cash deposited automatically so that it can earn interest. The savings account could officially be introduced in the next iOS 16 update, or Apple could hold it until iOS 17.
Bug Fixes
There are a few notable bug fixes in iOS 16.4.
Addresses an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children could fail to appear on the parent's device.
Fixes a bug where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home.
More Features
Know of something new that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.
With iPadOS 16.4, Apple added new functionality to the Apple Pencil hover function, introducing tilt and azimuth support. The updated hover feature is designed to allow artists to view a mark at any angle before it's actually made, making the iPad more useful than ever for drawing.
Apple Director of Input Experience Leslie Ikemoto and Apple Director of Platform Product Marketing Stephen Tonna spoke with TechCrunch about the hover update. Using Procreate as an example, Ikemoto said that users can now see exactly where a mark will appear when the Apple Pencil is set on the display.
"If you look at Procreate, they have the pencil brush, which is small and thin when you're perpendicular to the display. With Tilt and Azimuth, Procreate can render an exact outline of the mark that you're going to make when you set down your pencil brush, and that's a huge accelerator for their users.
Tonna said that Apple is "always listening to customer feedback" and also "building things our customers didn't even think of." The Apple Pencil team also uses what it builds, participating in "Inktober" every October. All of the team will draw and paint during the month, even those without notable artistic skill.
The new hover functionality works in native Apple features like Markup, as well as in third-party apps like Procreate. "We wanted hover to be as easy to adapt as possible," said Ikemoto, which is why hover was designed to use APIs that had already been used for the Magic Keyboard Trackpad. This allows hover to work automatically for any app that already supported UI pointer interaction, with further refinement possible through the UI hover gesture recognizer.
For those unfamiliar with hover, it is an M2iPad Pro exclusive feature. It allows an Apple Pencil 2 to be held up to 12 millimeters above the M2 iPad Pro for a more seamless transition when stopping and starting on a digital canvas.
More information about Apple's perspective on hover can be found in TechCrunch's full interview.
The iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, macOS 13.3, and watchOS 9.4 updates add a long list of new actions and improvements to the dedicated Shortcuts app that is available on Apple's iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches.
There's now a Find Books action for locating content in the Books app, along with an Intercom action for sending announcements to HomePods in your home through iOS devices. There are dedicated actions for activating always-on display on supported devices, and on the Mac, there are options for logging out and putting a Mac to sleep.
Find Books searches your library for books or PDFs matching a given title, author, genre, purchase date, or content type on iOS and macOS
Intercom broadcasts announcements to your home on iOS and watchOS
Set VPN connects, disconnects, or sets the On Demand setting for any VPN on iOS and macOS
Set AirDrop Receiving sets the AirDrop Receiving preference to Everyone, Contacts Only, or Nobody on iOS and macOS
Set Stage Manager enables or disables and changes the settings for Stage Manager on iPadOS and macOS
Set Announce Notifications toggles the Announce Notifications setting on iOS and watchOS
Set Silence Unknown Callers toggles the Silence Unknown Callers setting on iOS
Set Night Shift and Set True Tone toggle the display settings on iOS and macOS
Set Always-On Display toggles the Always-On Display on supported iOS devices
Find Apps finds and filters apps installed on macOS
Find Displays finds and filters displays on macOS
Shut Down, Restart, and Lock Display are now available on iOS and macOS
Log Out, Sleep and Put Display to Sleep are now available on macOS
Several actions have also been updated. Find Photos, for example, can be used to find screen recordings, and the Get Device action can now show the OS build number.
Move Window now allows moving a window to a display on macOS
Ask for Input has a new "Allow Multiple Lines" option, which can be disabled for single-line text input
Find Photos can now find screen recordings
Find Contacts now filters by birthday more accurately
Get Device Details can now get the OS build number
Get Device Details now rounds numbers, including the current battery level, volume, and brightness, to remove unnecessary decimal digits
Set Playback Destination now works when run from Siri
Play Music once again resumes currently playing music if no music is passed as input
Run AppleScript can now produce dictionaries as output from AppleScript records
Nothing now produces a variable with zero items, instead of producing no variable at all
Repeat can now be set to run 0 times
These actions and updated action options can be found in the Shortcuts app on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watch models running iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, macOS Ventura 13.3, and watchOS 9.4, respectively.
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