Breaking News

iOS 15.4 now comes to iPad and Mac as Universal Control

iOS 15.4 now comes to iPad and Mac as Universal Control




iOS 15.4, the latest version of Apple's iPhone operating system, has been released and should soon be available to download ahead of the Friday release of Apple's new third-generation iPhone SE and green iPhone 13. The update includes big new features like the ability to use Face ID while wearing a mask, as well as small additions like some new emoji. The new version of iOS launched with iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3, which includes support for Apple's new Universal Controls feature.

Universal Control allows you to use a Mac's keyboard and mouse to control the iPad completely wirelessly, including the ability to drag and drop files from the tablet back to the computer. Universal Controls requires that your Mac is running macOS Monterey 12.3, which was also released on Monday, and an iPad is running iPadOS 15.4.

We already have a pretty good idea of ​​how Apple's new mask-friendly Face ID implementation should work after trying it out in beta. You can read our full thoughts here. In short, it does a decent job of recognizing faces, even if the nose and mouth are covered by a mask, but can still be trapped by glasses, sunglasses and floppy hats. Apple warns that turning on the new feature could make Face ID less accurate overall.

Other features include new anti-stalking features for Apple's AirTag trackers as well as a new, more gender-neutral Siri voice. There's also support for a new Tap to Pay feature that lets iPhones accept contactless payments, though third-party providers like Stripe will need to add support to make this useful.

iOS 15.4 will be available for all iOS 15-compatible devices, which means anything from the iPhone 6S above is covered. iPadOS 15.4, meanwhile, is available for all iPad Pro models, iPad Air second generation and above, iPad mini fourth generation and above, and everything else on the base iPad fifth generation and later.

Finally, macOS Monterey 12.3 is supported on the following: iMac (Late 2015 and newer), iMac Pro (2017 and newer), Mac Pro (Late 2013 and newer), Mac Mini (Late 2014 and newer), MacBook Pro (Early 2015 and newer), MacBook Air (Early 2015 and newer), MacBook (Early 2016 and newer).

You can check for updates on your iPhone or iPad by going to Settings > General > Software Update. On Mac, you can go to System Preferences > Software Update.

No comments