Apple on Tuesday seeded the fourth betas of iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 updates to developers and public beta testers. The releases come one week after the release of the third betas.
Beta builds are available to developers over the air on the devices with the proper configuration installed. Developers can also download the new betas from the Apple Developer Center. On the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, the beta must be installed using the configuration profile.
Beta builds are available to public beta testers and can be downloaded over the air after the proper profile has been installed from the public beta testing site.
When the public beta builds of the new operating systems are ready, they can be downloaded via the Apple Beta Software Program website by users signed up to take part in the testing program. If you’re interested in trying out the betas of the upcoming operating systems you can sign up for the program by clicking the same link.
The first beta brought a new Mail toolbar, iCloud File Sharing, nine new Memoji sticker poses to choose from, and announced upcoming support for universal purchases for iOS and Mac apps.
The third beta included a reference to a hidden “OS Recovery” option in the update. It appears to provide a way to restore an iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, or HomePod without requiring a connection to a computer.
Features in the iOS 13.4 beta include:
- Updated settings for the TV app on iPhone and iPad, with new options for controlling data downloads and streaming.
- The toolbar has been tweaked again, doing away with the flag icon from the prior beta and adding a compose button on the far right. The reply button has been moved over one spot to the middle.
- A new API was added in iOS 13.4, called CarKey that is designed to allow the iPhone and the Apple Watch to unlock, lock, and start a compatible car. Those digital keys can be shared with others, and in the second beta new information is available to confirm the keys will be able to be sent to people in iMessage conversations
The above features may or may not make it into the final version of iOS 13.4, only time and testing results will tell.
As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any betas on your daily driver iPhone or iPad, instead only install betas on a device set aside for testing purposes.
