Apple Seeds iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 Release Candidate for developers and public beta testers

Apple today seeded the RC version of the upcoming iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 updates for developers for testing purposes, with the new betas arriving a week after Apple released the second betas.

IOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 can be downloaded via the Apple Developer Center or remotely after installing the appropriate profile on an iPhone or iPad.

Paired with the HomePod 14.4 beta, which is only available to a limited number of testers, iOS 14.4 adds a new HomePod mini feature that takes advantage of the mini’s U1 chip.

There are now visual, audio and tactile effects when songs are transferred from a HomePod mini to a U1-enabled iPhone 11 or iPhone 12. When a ‌iPhone‌ is close to the ‌HomePod mini‌, it starts a soft touch rhythm that gets faster and faster as the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ approaches until the interface to transfer a song between the ‌‌HomePod mini‌‌ and the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ is opened.

This functionality will make transferring faster and more reliable on a ‌‌HomePod mini‌‌ and a ‌iPhone 11‌ or ‌iPhone 12‌, all equipped with U1 chips that allow devices to better understand where they are in relation to each other.

In the Training section of the Apple Watch app on ‌iPhone‌, there is a new “Time to walk” feature that includes a toggle to “Add latest exercises to watch”. This suggests that Apple may be planning to add guided walking exercises to watchOS 7.3 beta. “Time to Walk exercises are downloaded when the Apple Watch is plugged in and close to your ‌iPhone‌. Completed exercises are automatically deleted,” says the setup. This does not work in the first beta version of watchOS 7.3 and iOS 14.4, but can be activated later.

IOS 14.4 includes a setting to specify a device type for third-party Bluetooth-connected audio devices so that measurements of the headset’s audio level can be taken correctly. Apple tracks the audio levels of the headphones to send alerts if the music is playing at a level that can impair hearing health over time.

IOS 14.4 includes a code that suggests that Apple will add a warning on iPhones that have had their cameras repaired or replaced with replacement components. The warning, which says “It was not possible to verify that this ‌iPhone‌ has a genuine Apple camera”, will let users know that the camera is not a legitimate Apple camera. Apple’s full release notes for the update are below:

iOS 14.4 includes the following improvements for your ‌iPhone‌:
– Smaller QR codes can be recognized by the camera
– Option to classify the type of Bluetooth device in the settings for correct identification of headphones for audio notifications
– Notifications for when the camera on your iPhone cannot be verified as a genuine new Apple camera on the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max

This release also fixes the following problems:
– Image artifacts may appear in HDR photos taken with the 12iPhone 12 Pro‌
– The fitness widget may not display updated activity data
– Typing may take time and word suggestions may not appear on the keyboard
– The keyboard may not appear in the correct language in messages
– News stories from the News app on CarPlay may not resume after being paused for spoken instructions or Siri
– Enabling accessibility exchange control can prevent calls from being answered on the lock screen

It is not known when iOS 14.4 will be released, but as the release notes are available, the public version may arrive soon.