iOS 16.4 introduces new features of 21 new emojis

iOS 16.4 introduces new features of 21 new emojis. 

‌iOS 16‌‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes for the updates to propagate to all users due to high demand. Apple has also released iOS 15.7.4 for iPhone users who have older devices, with the update offering security improvements.

iOS 16.4 adds 21 total new emoji characters including shaking head, pink heart, blue heart, gray heart, donkey, moose, black bird, goose, wing, jellyfish, hyacinth, and more.

It also includes Safari web notifications for websites added to the Home Screen, Voice Isolation for clearer cellular phone calls, the return of the Apple Books page turning animation, updates to Podcasts, new HomeKit architecture, and a number of other small changes and tweaks. Apple's full notes for the update are below:

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

- 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard

- Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen

- Voice Isolation for cellular calls prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you

- Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library

- VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app

- Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected

- Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent's device

- Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home

- Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. 

Web push notifications: Home Screen web apps can finally send web push notifications, including badges. In addition, third-party browsers can show a user interface for users to add a website to their home screen.

5G Standalone: Another iOS 16.4 feature is the new 5G Standalone function. This will help your iPhone deliver faster speeds of up to 3GBps. T-Mobile, Brazilian carriers Vivo and Tim, and Japan’s Softbank are some companies supporting it.

Apple Music and Apple Podcasts tweaks: For the Music app, iOS 16.4 includes several tweaks. For example, adding a song to the queue no longer brings a full-screen pop-up. The playlists menu also shows the artwork cover in a smaller size. Apple Podcasts, for example, brings changes to the Library, improvements to Up Next, and CarPlay updates.

Apple Books: iOS 16.4 brings back the page-turning effect. The animation had been removed with the revamped Books app with iOS 16.

Voice Isolation for calls: This important feature was available until the iPhone 12 and was removed by Apple when it launched the iPhone 13. Different from the Apple Books animation, this one wasn’t related to a software update but to the hardware itself. Now, the Cupertino firm is applying the same technology of FaceTime calls to let you isolate your voice on a cellular call so outside noise won’t disturb you.