All the changes in iOS 13.4: CarKey, iCloud folder sharing, Memoji, & more

Posted:
in iOS edited June 2020
Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 13.4 to developers and in it come a slew of changes, many of them quite substantial. Let's take a look at what you can expect when it is eventually released.

First developer beta of iOS 13.4
First developer beta of iOS 13.4


The first major change to iOS 13.4 is the return of iCloud folder sharing. This was a feature promised for iOS 13, but it was removed and users never quite got to take advantage of it. However, the feature has now returned in iOS 13.4.






By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

iCloud Folder Sharing
iCloud Folder Sharing in iOS 13.4


Another big change is the ability for developers to offer a single app purchase that works not only across iPhone and iPad, but iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. This will ease the burden on consumers who don't like having to purchase the same app multiple times.

A big new feature, that we still don't know much about, is called CarKey. This is a new API for iOS and watchOS that will allow you to lock, unlock, and start your car with your iPhone and Apple Watch. Even the ability to share NFC keys with others.

Again, this feature was just discovered and we will likely have to continue digging until we hear from Apple on how this feature will be rolled out and what vehicles may be eventually supported.

Nine new Memoji stickers
Nine new Memoji stickers


Other additions in this beta include nine new Memoji stickers, a rearranged Mail toolbar, new keyboard shortcuts on iPad within the Photos app for navigating and editing, TV app now shows Family Sharing under the Library tab, new call controls and third-party navigation options in CarPlay, and the authorization prompt will appear immediately after granting Always for location access.

As always, this list is non-exhaustive so if you find any other changes in the beta, be sure to let us know and we'll update the list accordingly.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

    Does it work to share the folder via link to a non-Apple ID recipient? ie, anyone?
  • Reply 2 of 16
    We need a hugging Memoji
  • Reply 3 of 16
    By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

    Does it work to share the folder via link to a non-Apple ID recipient? ie, anyone?
    An Apple device is not a requirement for an Apple ID. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Anilu_777 said:
    We need a hugging Memoji
    Air hug?  There's only one person in a memoji.



  • Reply 5 of 16
    bonobob said:
    By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

    Does it work to share the folder via link to a non-Apple ID recipient? ie, anyone?
    An Apple device is not a requirement for an Apple ID. 
    It is the non-Apple ID recipients being asked about. Since we can put any file in an iCloud Drive folder, it would be nice to be able to share folder contents with anyone.
    edited February 2020 dysamoriafrantisekStrangeDayssphericwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    I've been thinking -- actually wishing for an Apple CarKey.
    I can lose or forget my key, or even leave it in my car.   But my watch is always on my wrist.   That would be a very nice feature.  Hopefully third party add-on vendors will support it and I won't have to wait till its time to buy a new car.
    gregoriusmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 16
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    With all these feature changes, I guess we can assume they’re no longer focusing on fixing the plethora of bugs still rampant in iOS... and also now they’re undoubtedly introducing new ones.
    frantisektokyojimu
  • Reply 8 of 16
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    dysamoria said:
    With all these feature changes, I guess we can assume they’re no longer focusing on fixing the plethora of bugs still rampant in iOS... and also now they’re undoubtedly introducing new ones.
    Assume what you like. You usually do.
    netmagerazorpitStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 16
    netmagenetmage Posts: 314member
    dysamoria said:
    With all these feature changes, I guess we can assume they’re no longer focusing on fixing the plethora of bugs still rampant in iOS... and also now they’re undoubtedly introducing new ones.
    I know this comes as a surprise to a unitasker like you, but Apple can do more than one thing at a time. In fact, they can focus on more than one thing at a time. They can even focus on one thing while still working on other things. 
    razorpitStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 16
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    bonobob said:
    Anilu_777 said:
    We need a hugging Memoji
    Air hug?  There's only one person in a memoji.



    Until Apple come up with a way for Memoji to interact with other Memoji.....
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 16
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    bonobob said:
    By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

    Does it work to share the folder via link to a non-Apple ID recipient? ie, anyone?
    An Apple device is not a requirement for an Apple ID. 
    Not my point whatsoever. I want to be able to share folders with people who don’t have an Apple ID. 
    spheric
  • Reply 12 of 16
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member

    dysamoria said:
    With all these feature changes, I guess we can assume they’re no longer focusing on fixing the plethora of bugs still rampant in iOS... and also now they’re undoubtedly introducing new ones.
    Welcome to computers, buddy. All software has bugs, all software will have bugs. There are people doing bug fixes and people building new. It’s not binary. You would have to halt iOS development and work on it for 50 years to make it perfect with not a single bug. Good luck with that. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 16
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,332member
    bonobob said:
    By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

    Does it work to share the folder via link to a non-Apple ID recipient? ie, anyone?
    An Apple device is not a requirement for an Apple ID. 
    Not my point whatsoever. I want to be able to share folders with people who don’t have an Apple ID. 
    For security reasons Apple has to be able to authenticate and authorize all access to iCloud folders. They use their massive iCloud infrastructure investment to do this. What other authentication and authorization service provider would you suggest Apple opens up their system to? It’s possible of course, but it would open up another attack vector into iCloud or put Apple at the mercy of a provider they cannot control. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 16
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    dewme said:
    bonobob said:
    By going to a folder within iCloud Drive and tapping Share, users can either add specific people to view a folder, share a link, and allow those users to make changes or just to view the folder's contents.

    Does it work to share the folder via link to a non-Apple ID recipient? ie, anyone?
    An Apple device is not a requirement for an Apple ID. 
    Not my point whatsoever. I want to be able to share folders with people who don’t have an Apple ID. 
    For security reasons Apple has to be able to authenticate and authorize all access to iCloud folders. They use their massive iCloud infrastructure investment to do this. What other authentication and authorization service provider would you suggest Apple opens up their system to? It’s possible of course, but it would open up another attack vector into iCloud or put Apple at the mercy of a provider they cannot control. 
    I would like it to work exactly the way Dropbox does: 

    send a link, allowing
    —Other users of the service to share the folder and edit it, or 
    — Other users to download the link, regardless of whether they have an account or not. 

    Since my Dropbox is running full, I need to upload large files to my FTP server, but it would be much simpler to just throw it in the 2TB icloud folder and share a link. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 16
    Correct me if I’m wrong, but a small change might be that the “open in new tab” option on Safari was replaced with “open in background”. Usually that’s option is only available when using split screen or slide over, but now it’s the default option even when using Safari on full screen.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 16
    For my new car I ordered the option to lock/unlock it with my iPhone (not delivered  yet). I’m curious whether this is already based on the API introduced here. 
    watto_cobra
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