Apple had announced its imminent arrival during its March 8 keynote (during which the firm presented the iPhone SE 2022 , the iPad Air , as well as the Mac Studio ). And today, the iOS 15.4 update for the iPhone, and iPadOS 15.4 for the iPad, are finally available.
To download it, just go to Settings > General > Software Update. Since this is a fairly large update, it may take quite a long time to download. Nevertheless, it includes a lot of interesting novelties and features that were highly anticipated by iPhone users.
iOS 15.4 finally allows you to use Face ID with the mask
The iPhone had a big disadvantage during the health crisis. Its biometric sensor, which is based on facial recognition, did not work when the user was wearing a mask.
But with the iOS 15.4 update, Apple changed the Face ID algorithm so that it can be used even while wearing a mask. In essence, Apple has changed this one so that it can work by only scanning the parts of the face that aren’t covered.
Unfortunately, probably due to hardware constraints, this new feature is only compatible with iPhone 12 and newer models. Face ID with the mask allows you to validate Apple Pay payments as well as to fill in password fields on apps and on Safari.
New emojis for your texts
Another important novelty: new emojis are coming to Apple’s operating system. These new emojis include “faces, hand gestures and household objects”.
According to the explanations of the 9to5Mac site, there are a total of 37 new emojis. The new collection would be part of emoji 14.0.
Universal Control is finally available
For its part, iPadOS finally benefits from Universal Control, a novelty that the firm had announced in 2021, but whose release has been postponed.
“Universal Control allows users to work with one mouse and one keyboard and switch from Mac to iPad for a seamless experience with no configuration required. Users can even drag and drop content from one device to another, which is great for drawing a sketch with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it in a Keynote slide on Mac”explained Apple, during the presentation of this novelty.
COVID-19: your documents can be stored on the iPhone
Apple has been allowing users in the United States to digitally store documents such as vaccination cards or test results on the iPhone. And with iOS 15.4, these features are also available in Europe.
According to the firm’s explanations, you can now use the Health app to store verifiable copies of COVID-19 vaccination documents, test results, and recovery information.
“COVID-19 Vaccination Cards in Apple Wallet Now Support EU COVID Digital Certificate Format”also indicates Apple.
The update that turns the iPhone into a payment terminal
In February, Apple announced the arrival on the iPhone of a feature called Tap to Pay. This allows merchants to use the iPhone to accept contactless payments, via NFT, through compatible applications. And with the iOS 15.4 update, according to 9to5Mac, enables this feature on the iPhone.
Unfortunately, at the moment, Tap to Pay is still only available in the United States. And Apple has not yet indicated when it plans to offer the feature in Europe.
