Apple Releases Second Public Betas of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, HomeKit Update and More

Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the software ahead of its launch. Today’s betas come two weeks after the release of the first public betas.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s free beta testing program can download the ‌iOS 16.4‌ beta over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.

This is the last beta that will use certificates in this way as future beta updates will be linked to an Apple ID for both developers and public beta testers.

The iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates add a number of new emoji characters, including shaking head, pink heart, blue heart, gray heart, donkey, moose, black bird, goose, wing, jellyfish, hyacinth, pea pod, ginger, fan, comb, flute, maracas, and left and right facing hand options.

Safari Web Push notifications are available, but web developers will need to add support. With this feature, you can add a website to your Home Screen and the website can send you push notifications, just like on the Mac. These notifications behave like any other iOS notification and can be filtered out with Focus mode, delivered on Apple Watch, and more.

There’s a new add to ‌Home Screen‌ option for third-party browsers so you can add a favorite Chrome site directly to your ‌Home Screen‌, plus the HomeKit architecture upgrade that was pulled from iOS 16.2 is now available again. The second beta reintroduces the page turning animation in Apple Books, and it has hints of Apple Music Classical.

Apple has made minor tweaks to the Podcasts app, ‌Apple Music‌ app, and the AppleCare coverage interface, plus there are new Shortcuts, 5G connectivity in Turkey, an option to add an always-on display filter to Focus more, and more. Full details on everything new can be found in our dedicated iOS 16.4 guide.