New emoji, changes to Apple Podcasts, and what else testers can try now.
Apple released iOS 16.4 beta 2 to public beta testers Wednesday, a few weeks after the company released the first iOS 16.4 public beta. Beta testers can now try out new iOS features, like new emoji and updates to Apple Books.
These features are only available to people who are a part of Apple's Beta Software Program. New iOS features can be fun, but we recommend only downloading a beta on something other than your primary phone, just in case the new software causes issues. Apple provides beta testers with an app called Feedback. This app lets testers notify Apple of any issues in the new software so the problem can be addressed before general release.
Here are some of the new features that testers can find in the iOS 16.4 betas.
Apple Books animation
The iOS 16.4 beta 2 update brings the page-turn curl animation back to Apple Books after it was removed in a previous iOS update. Before, when you turned a page in an e-book on your iPhone, the page would slide to one side of your screen or it would vanish and be replaced by the next page. Beta testers can still choose these page-turn options.
31 new emoji
The first iOS 16.4 beta software brought 31 new emoji to your iOS device. The new emoji include a new smiley; new animals, like a moose and a goose; and new heart colors, like pink and light blue.
The new emoji all come from Unicode's September 2022 recommendation list, Emoji 15.0.
Apple Podcasts updates
The first beta brought a few changes to how you navigate Apple Podcasts. Now you can access podcast channels you subscribe to in your Library. You can also use Up Next to resume podcast episodes you've started, start episodes you've saved and remove episodes you want to skip.
Preview Mastodon links in Messages
Apple's first iOS 16.4 beta enabled rich previews of Mastodon links in Messages. That's good because Mastodon saw a 400% increase in the rate of new accounts in December, so you might be receiving Mastodon links in Messages.
Music app changes
The Music interface has been slightly modified in the first iOS 16.4 beta. When you add a song to your queue, a small banner appears near the bottom of your screen instead of a full-screen pop-up.
See who and what is covered under AppleCare
Starting with iOS 16.4 beta 1, you could go to Settings to check who and what devices are covered on your AppleCare plan. With iOS 16.4 beta 2, this menu will show you a small icon next to each device that's covered under AppleCare.
Focus Mode, Shortcuts and always-on display
If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, iOS 16.4 beta 1 lets you enable or disable the always-on display option with certain Focus Modes. A new option in Shortcuts called Set Always on Display was also added, in addition to new Lock Screen and Set VPN actions.
New Apple Wallet widgets
You can add three new order-tracking widgets for Apple Wallet to your home screen with the first iOS 16.4 beta. Each widget displays your tracking information on active orders, but the widgets are different sizes: small, medium and large.
More accessibility options
The first beta update added a new accessibility option, too. The new option is called Dim Flashing Lights, and it can be found in the Motion menu in Settings. The option's description says video content that depicts repeated flashing or strobing lights will automatically be dimmed. Video timelines will also show when flashing lights will occur.
Two new keyboards
The first iOS 16.4 beta added keyboards, for the Choctaw and Chickasaw languages.
There's no word on when iOS 16.4 will be released to the general public. There's no guarantee these beta features will be released with iOS 16.4, or that these will be the only features released with the update.
For more, check out how to become an Apple beta tester, what was included in iOS 16.3.1 and features you may have missed in iOS 16.3.