Apple Releases Third Public Betas of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications and More

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the software ahead of its launch. Today's betas come one week after the release of the second public betas.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's free beta testing program can download the ‌iOS 16.4‌ beta over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.

This is the last beta that will use certificates in this way as future beta updates will be linked to an Apple ID for both developers and public beta testers.

The iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates add a number of new emoji characters, including shaking head, pink heart, blue heart, gray heart, donkey, moose, black bird, goose, wing, jellyfish, hyacinth, pea pod, ginger, fan, comb, flute, maracas, and left and right facing hand options.

Safari Web Push notifications are available, but web developers will need to add support. With this feature, you can add a website to your Home Screen and the website can send you push notifications, just like on the Mac. These notifications behave like any other iOS notification and can be filtered out with Focus mode, delivered on Apple Watch, and more.

There's a new add to Home Screen option for third-party browsers so you can add a favorite Chrome site directly to your Home Screen, plus the HomeKit architecture upgrade that was pulled from iOS 16.2 is now available again. The second beta reintroduces the page turning animation in Apple Books, and it has hints of Apple Music Classical.

Apple has made minor tweaks to the Podcasts app, Apple Music app, and the AppleCare coverage interface, plus there are new Shortcuts, 5G connectivity in Turkey, an option to add an always-on display filter to Focus more, and more. Full details on everything new can be found in our dedicated iOS 16.4 guide.

Article Link: Apple Releases Third Public Betas of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications and More

 

[Realityck]

Actually notifications wear you out.

 

[contacos]

Has anyone seen any web push notification prompts yet? I wonder how they implemented it. Haven’t come across one yet

 

[redbeard331]

Has anyone seen any web push notification prompts yet? I wonder how they implemented it. Haven’t come across one yet

Nope, I tried to set them up from Macrumors but their explanation made no sense and they don’t work for me at least.

 

[Realityck]

Nope, I tried to set them up from Macrumors but their explanation made no sense and they don’t work for me at least.

Comparably on MacOS 13.3 beta 3 every time I use Safari it queries me about enabling push notifications. Whereas IPadOS doesn't have Safari offer notifications setting like Mail, Notes, Reminders, Messages, FaceTime and so on.

 

[redbeard331]

Comparably on MacOS 13.3 beta 3 every time I use Safari it queries me about enabling push notifications. Whereas IPadOS doesn't have Safari offer notifications setting like Mail, Notes, Reminders, Messages, FaceTime and so on.

It’s so easy and simple on Android, funny how it’s Apple that makes the overly complicated software these days.

 

[BornAgainMac]

People can use the flute instead of the eggplant to change it up a bit.

 

[adamtyree]

What is that purple icon emoji? The crystal castle from She-Ra?

 

[DroidBro]

I hope in iOS 17 they add search for emoji. It is truly hard to find a specific one, and time consuming. Also it would be nice if we set a skin tone for one emoji it applies to all of them. Having to set each one manually is dumb. Lastly a favorite section for emoji would be nice.

 

[dmw7]

Emojis. I’m so glad that they’re putting their resources into things that really matter.

 

[txscott]

If you use emoji, you're doing it wrong. Been texting/messaging since texting was a thing you did on a flip phone. Never used an emoji.

The really bad thing is that now courts are starting to rule on what emoji's mean. In one case they found the use of a rocket emoji meant the entity texting was giving investment advice. In other instances it's even worse. What is the meaning of a poop or unicorn emoji in the context of what you are sending? Do you want to wait until the court decides or do you want to use words? I'm sticking to words.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

If you use emoji, you're doing it wrong. Been texting/messaging since texting was a thing you did on a flip phone. Never used an emoji.

The really bad thing is that now courts are starting to rule on what emoji's mean. In one case they found the use of a rocket emoji meant the entity texting was giving investment advice. In other instances it's even worse. What is the meaning of a poop or unicorn emoji in the context of what you are sending? Do you want to wait until the court decides or do you want to use words? I'm sticking to words.

I would like to filter emojis. Basically you can pick the ones you want to see visible and then the rest will be hidden. I know Emojis are a thing to various people, but whenever I click on the emoji tab (and I barely use them), I get overwhelmed trying to find the one I want. It's too much.

 

[Akrapovic]

Emojis. I’m so glad that they’re putting their resources into things that really matter.

I know you think you're being funny, but conforming to the Unicode standards actually is important. It does matter. These are the standards which allow devices and operating systems to talk to each other and actually make sense. Without conforming to the standard, if someone used an emoji that Apple decided it didn't want to bother with, you'd see a square, or similar placeholder icon. And it's not just limited to emoji - it defines all characters. Unicode is why Apple, or Microsoft, or Google, or Samsung can't just wake up one day and decide "Hey I think supporting the letter K is too much bother, so why don't we just drop that? Nobody uses it, and C is just fine".

So yes, having artists spend a tiny bit of their time drawing, and having a junior operating system engineer spend a tiny bit of their time updating the Unicode code for iOS/macOS/iPadOS/etcOS really does matter.

 

[n-evo]

I really hope this will fix the battery drain I’ve been experiencing since iOS 16.3.1. The poor battery life of my iPhone 14 Pro is really starting to annoy me.

 

[cableguy84]

New emoji…. Nice

 

[AngloApulian]

Has anyone seen any web push notification prompts yet? I wonder how they implemented it. Haven’t come across one yet

From the MacRumors news post above, it sounds like you might need to add the website to your Home Screen before it allows web push notifications. I could be wrong. Has anyone tried this?

I’m not running the beta, so can’t try this myself.

 

[oceptis]

What is that purple icon emoji? The crystal castle from She-Ra?

It’s a religious symbol “khanda”

Emoji Recently Added, v15.0

 

[Jana_CZ]

I hope in iOS 17 they add search for emoji. It is truly hard to find a specific one, and time consuming.

You mean… this?

 

[contacos]

I hope in iOS 17 they add search for emoji. It is truly hard to find a specific one, and time consuming. Also it would be nice if we set a skin tone for one emoji it applies to all of them. Having to set each one manually is dumb. Lastly a favorite section for emoji would be nice.

What do you mean? There is already a search

 

[kshitijshah]

Finally brings 5G to iPads in India for both networks. Jio and Airtel.

 

[Junior Amboy]

Has anyone seen any web push notification prompts yet? I wonder how they implemented it. Haven’t come across one yet

WhatApp Web notifications now work. Synching is delayed or sometimes does not sync so, expect the notifications have the same behavior.

 

[contacos]

WhatApp Web notifications now work. Synching is delayed or sometimes does not sync so, expect the notifications have the same behavior.

Oh I have not even thought of that usecase! I’ll try it on my iPad

 

[Kar98]

Actually notifications wear you out.

For real, and the reason I don’t have a smart watch. Drove me nuts.

 

[Kar98]

I hope in iOS 17 they add search for emoji. It is truly hard to find a specific one, and time consuming. Also it would be nice if we set a skin tone for one emoji it applies to all of them. Having to set each one manually is dumb. Lastly a favorite section for emoji would be nice.

Good news!

 

[JCarmona]

Is there a limit to emojis? Do they discontinue or just keep adding them?

I would love to see what they mean and how people use them... I like using them, but can't see the use for a comb or hyacinth...