Hands-on with over 50 new iOS 16.4 changes and features [Video]

On Monday, Apple officially released iOS 16.4 to the public, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a huge release with tons of changes, features, new emojis, bug fixes, and more. In this hands-on video, I look at over 50 new features. Be sure to participation in 9to5Mac on YouTube For more videos like this.

What’s new in iOS 16.4?

As noted, iOS 16.4 is loaded with new additions. In my hands-on walkthrough, I step through a slew of new features. However, in this written post, I wanted to reflect on some of the new features that I found interesting.

Tons of shortcut updates

Outside of WebKit, the basic framework behind Safari, the Shortcuts app is getting the most attention in iOS 16.4. New shortcut actions include the ability to toggle Silence Unknown Callers, Auto Answer Calls, Night Shift, and True Tone. You’ll also find new routines for toggling the Always On Display on the iPhone 14 Pro, turning off your device, locking the screen, and more.

Video Guidelines: 50+ iOS 16.4 Changes and Features

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My new favorite is for the intercom feature, which works across iOS devices and HomePods. This new procedure can announce a message passed as input using the intercom and can accept both text and media files and output to all the HomePods in your home.

There are other Shortcuts changes included in 16.4 as well, such as the ability to find screen recordings within the Photos app, connect to a VPN, or call up a selected playback destination action via Siri. The bottom line? If you are a fan of Shortcuts, iOS 16.4 is a must-have.

Music app UI changes

The Music app doesn’t gain any drastic changes in iOS 16.4, but there are several UI tweaks that I’m enjoying. Specifically, the popup that used to appear when adding songs to your library or Up Next queue has been significantly reduced in size and is now displayed near the bottom of the interface. There’s also an updated sort button, playlist thumbnails, and a profile button now available in the top-right corner of each Music app tab.

However, my favorite new Music app feature is the improved waveform that appears alongside track titles. Previously, the waveform was just a generic animation that had no effect on the song being played. In iOS 16.4, the updated waveform is directly related to the audio being played.

Rich previews for Mastodon in the message

Although Mastodon is still relatively unknown among the masses, it is already providing a thriving destination for techies. With that said, Mastodon links in Messages now appear in rich previews in iOS 16.4. This change was likely sanctioned by fellow Apple and former head of global marketing, Phil Schiller, who deleted his Twitter account and now has an official presence in Fediverse.

Browser improvements

Of all the changes in iOS 16.4, no other area has received more attention than WebKit and, by extension, Safari. As stated on the official WebKit website, 16.4 Includes 135 new web features and over 280 new updates.

Among some of the most obvious web-centric features in iOS 16.4 is support for creating home screen bookmarks directly from third-party browsers. Additionally, opening these home screen bookmarks will now respect the default browser configured in iOS settings.

For the first time, web apps are now getting support for push notifications, and that includes notification badges and compatibility with iOS focus modes. This change should make web applications more attractive than they were in the past.

Take 9to5Mac

Of course, the few features listed in this post are just a taste of everything included in iOS 16.4. In my practical videoHere, I go through over 50 new changes and features that are included in this huge new update. Overall, I feel like iOS 16 as a whole has seen the most updates of any major iOS release we’ve seen thus far, and there’s a chance we’ll see more new features like iOS 16.5, which is already in the initial developer beta, and matures.

What’s your favorite new iOS 16.4 feature? Drop down in the comments with your thoughts.