iOS 15.4 is approaching release, what do you need to know?

New iPhones mean a new iOS update. In this case iOS 15.4 and some interesting new things are coming to your iPhone.

Every major release of an iPhone comes with an update to the iOS operating system. For example, iOS 15 came out with the iPhone 13 last year and the iPhone 14 will be paired with iOS 16. However, a ‘new iPhone’, the renewed iPhone SE, arrived at the Apple event at the beginning of this month. It also runs on iOS 15, but will bring a new iOS version with its release this Friday: iOS 15.4.

iOS 15.4

So it won’t be a revolution, but it’s worth getting this update on your iPhone. iOS 15.4 brings a few changes that can sometimes be useful. We’ll go through it with you.

Face masks mode

Nice then: you hardly need a mouth cap here anymore, Apple comes with a mouth cap mode. We reported about this before: with iOS 15.4 your face will be recognizable by eyes and shape, but a mouth cap can be ignored. This is how FaceID works without taking off your mask or having to enter your code. Better late than never, although of course we hope that the mouth cap will not come back.

Universal Control

Universal Control also comes with iOS 15.4. Universal Control will be more convenient for iPad than iPhone, but it is a way to make operation between different Apple devices smoother. Think of being able to use a Mac keyboard and mouse on an iPad without the hassle. It is also possible to share files between Mac and iPad with UC by dragging them from one to the other. This feature only works on Macs running macOS Monterey 12.3, also out this week.

Other

Some other minor features of iOS 15.4 include new emoji, a gender-neutral voice for Siri, more ways to avoid being stalked with AirTags, and the ability to receive payments with Apple Pay. The latter sounds quite interesting: it means that your iPhone can become a wireless payment device. For example, you could pay Tikkies by holding the bank card or phone of the paying party against your iPhone. We see possibilities.

As mentioned, iOS 15.4 will be released sometime this week. The expectation is Friday, at the same time as the new iPhone SE, but earlier could also be possible. You will automatically see it in your update notifications.