It’s been over a week since Apple released the iOS 16.3 update, and typically new iOS betas follow launches within about a day. We expected Apple to ship the first iOS 16.4 beta on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of this week, but that didn’t happen.
Tuesdays are the days we most often see betas, although Mondays and Wednesdays happen occasionally, and most often betas come out at 10:00 a.m. PT. We’ve now passed the most likely beta release deadlines for this week, which means we may be waiting until Tuesday, February 7 for the first beta of iOS 16.4.
That said, Apple very rarely releases new beta updates at 1:00 p.m. PT, so there’s still a slim chance we could get a beta today, and even more rarely betas arrive on Thursday, so tomorrow is not 100% excluded. That is. It’s earnings day on Thursday, with details set to be released at 1:30 p.m., so we may not see a beta on Thursday.
Next week is the most likely iOS 16.4 beta launch scenario, based on when betas normally release and past launch times.
Last year, the first iOS 15.4 beta arrived on January 27, a day after the launch of iOS 15.3, and in 2021, a 14.5 beta arrived in February as timelines accelerated this year- the. In 2020, we got iOS 13.4 on February 5th, which is a full week after the launch of iOS 13.3.1.
Possible features of iOS 16.4
There wasn’t much in iOS 16.3 as it focused primarily on security keys and then under the hood bug fixes, but chances are iOS 16.4 will be more exciting, especially considering due to the launch delay.
- New emoji – Apple has not yet added Unicode emoji 15, which includes pink heart, moose, black bird, jellyfish, flute, hyacinth, ginger, goose, donkey, etc. ., so we could see them in the 16.4 beta.
- Apple Classical Music – Apple is working on a sort of revamped classical music experience with a dedicated app. It was supposed to arrive in 2022, but that didn’t happen, so it could launch anytime.
- Web-based push notifications on iOS – We’re still waiting for an iOS 16 update that adds web-based push notifications to iPhone and iPad, a feature that will allow websites to send notifications through Safari, just like on Macs.
- Apple pay later – With Apple Pay Later, eligible customers in the US will be able to split their purchases into four equal payments that will be made over six weeks, with no additional interest. The functionality will be integrated into the Wallet app and is similar to PayPal’s buy now, pay later functionality. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman previously said that Apple Pay Later could be introduced in iOS 16.4.
- Apple Card Savings Accounts – Apple plans to allow Apple Card customers to open a high-yield savings account through Goldman Sachs, where daily cash accrued from purchases can be saved. It’s unclear when this will launch, and like Apple Music Classical, it could arrive at any time.
When the initial iOS 16.4 beta arrives, it will be limited to developers to begin with, with Apple likely releasing the software to public beta testers a week later. If we get the first developer beta on February 7, a public beta could happen on the 14th and a launch could happen between the second and third week of March at the earliest, or early April if there are any features that require further testing.