Everything new in iPadOS & iOS 13.4

Posted:
in iOS edited March 2020
Apple has officially released iOS 13.4 which brings a huge array of new features to uses as well as a few enhancements for developers. Now that it is available to download, let's take a look at what you can expect with the newest update for iPhone and iPad.




iOS 13.4 has gone through a rigorous beta process, encompassing six betas throughout. Apple released the GM on March 16th ahead of its official release. Apple touted many of the new features in its announcement of the newly updated 2020 iPad Pro.




Big new features

When Apple originally announced iOS 13, it touted iCloud Folder Sharing as a feature. Unfortunately, come release, that never came to pass. Now, Apple is delivering on that promise with iOS 13.4. Users can now share entire folders housed in iCloud Drive both via a link or individually. When shared, you can decide -- similar to other sharing services -- whether others can just view the files or if they can edit them as well.

The pointer on an iPad morphing to edit text
The pointer on an iPad morphing to edit text


Another new feature launching is full-fledged support for a cursor and Bluetooth mice and trackpads for iPads running iPadOS 13.4. We've already covered this extensively, going into the basics of getting started as well as advanced customizations.

Users may also be excited to see nine new Memoji stickers coming to iOS 13.4. These stickers include praying, the "Home Alone" face, making an X with the arms, steam coming from the nose, a serious eye roll, a user looking out from behind a MacBook, a party face, hearts encompassing your face, and a raised arm with a flat hand.

Adding people to a shared folder in iCloud Drive
Adding people to a shared folder in iCloud Drive


For frequent Mail users, the toolbar has been refreshed. It now has the trash can button, one for moving the message to a different folder, the reply button, and a compose button. The reply button opens an additional menu where you can reply, reply all forward, trash, flag, mark as unread, archive, move to junk, mute, notify you, and print.

Small changes

There are many small changes in iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 as well.

When a VPN is disabled it will notify you in the status bar. For the devices that don't have a notch they now have a status bar in Control Center. There are new CarPlay controls for third-party call and navigation apps that allow them to appear in the updated Dashboard interface.

If you have your phone placed face down, "Hey Siri" is disabled. In the new update, there is an accessibility option to always listen for "Hey Siri" regardless of your phone's placement. Siri can also now be asked to take you to your Home screen.

In the Music app, when in lyric view, if the song has an instrumental beginning, ellipses will now appear until the lyrics begin. The Shortcuts app has a new action for Shazam. On iPad, the circular icon for closing tabs in Safar has been replaced with a square.

Nine new Memoji characters in iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4
Nine new Memoji characters in iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4


The Photos app has new keyboard shortcuts for navigating the app and editing. Speaking of shortcuts, you can remap hardware keys including the globe icon, control, command, and others. Inside the TV app, there is now an option for Family Sharing.

Emails are automatically encrypted when sent with S/MIME enabled. In the App Store under Apple Arcade, you can now see all games (this also works on previous OS updates). When using Quick Look to preview USDZ files, audio is now supported.

This update also includes support for recently introduced products such as the new Powerbeats 4 and 2020 iPad Pro.

Lastly, Apple has finally made it an option to combine purchases for Mac and iOS apps, as well as Apple TV. Now you can buy an app once and have it available on all platforms.

Maybe sometime soon?

During the beta phase of iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4, a few other features have appeared but never fully released or announced.

That includes a new entirely iTunes-free recovery process. This would be very helpful as more people are adopting the iPad and iPhone without having any Mac or PC at all. When a device is put into recovery mode, it -- as of now -- requires iTunes to install the OS from scratch. It could be even more useful on Apple Watch. Apple Watch has no way to downgrade from a beta software update so allowing it to restore back to the previous OS via recovery mode would be welcomed.

The other big feature yet to see the light of day is the new CarKey API. This would allow users to unlock, lock, and start their NFC-equipped vehicle right from their iPhone or iPad. It will be managed via the Wallet app and users can even share the virtual "key" through Messages.

We've seen quite a bit of the API during the beta process but a feature such as this will need a wealth of support from the auto industry, just as with CarPlay. Apple is likely laying the groundwork now for future support and announcements in the future. If recent iOS 14 code is to be believed, BMW may be one of the launch partners.

Available now

The iOS 13.4 update for iPhone
The iOS 13.4 update for iPhone


iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 are available now to users for free by heading into the Settings app of support devices.

If you spot any other changes, let us know on Twitter @Andrew_OSU.

Deals on 2020 iPad Pros & more

Discounts are in effect right now on Apple's new 2020 iPad Pro, as well as the budget-friendly 10.2-inch iPad and closeout iPad Pros. For the latest deals and product availability, be sure to check out the AppleInsider iPad Price Guide, which is updated throughout the day.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Lotta good stuff in there for a '.' upgrade. Surprised at how much I'm already using the pointer feature. All that's needed now is the ability to scroll text from my original Magic Mouse which until now has been collecting dust.
    minicoffeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 19
    iOS_Guy80iOS_Guy80 Posts: 810member
    No issues updating tablets, cannot to install on iPhone.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 966member
    sweet typo, "morphine" == "morphing"
    edited March 2020 fastasleepwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 19
    longpathlongpath Posts: 393member

    Regrettably, the bug fix for what Apple Support called a known issue, isn’t in this update. Had hoped today would be the day that Reminders worked again.  :'(  

    The known issue is where someone who elected to delay the migration to the new Reminders data format, and then migrated later, the iOS Reminders app is unable to sync with iCloud, even though Macs running Catalina can. The iCloud reminders can also be shared to other iOS devices. They just won’t sync to the original device. Factory Resets are inaffective in resolving the issue. I’ve tried twice, once with an Apple Store Genius’ actively working with me, to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

    neo-techwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 19
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Eric_WVGG said:
    sweet typo, "morphine" == "morphing"
    I know, I was like, “finally!”
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 19
    The trackpad setting doesn’t have the toggle for tap-to-click like what was shown in the gold master.  Or the two finger secondary click.  Between this and the inability to scroll, a trackpad is pretty much useless.  I have a first gen trackpad and a 6th gen iPad and just upgraded to 13.4.  
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 19
    tommy65tommy65 Posts: 56member
    You need 2nd gen Trackpad
    StrangeDaysheadfull0winerazorpit
  • Reply 8 of 19
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    The trackpad setting doesn’t have the toggle for tap-to-click like what was shown in the gold master.  Or the two finger secondary click.  Between this and the inability to scroll, a trackpad is pretty much useless.  I have a first gen trackpad and a 6th gen iPad and just upgraded to 13.4.  
    It does, I’m using it right now. Trackpad text selection is waaaay better now. Magic Trackpad 2. And the morphing pointer is great, very intuitive. With button elements, it doesn’t just highlight them when rolling over, the pointer morphs into the rollover highlight, and you can wiggle and move it. Feels fluid, and not the least bit confusing as handwringers had suggested it would.  
    edited March 2020 headfull0winefastasleepwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 19
    So, $150 CAD just to be able to scroll... Not going to happen.  It baffles me why a first gen tack pad doesn’t work.  Can someone explain???
    mike54razorpit
  • Reply 10 of 19
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Ugh, iCloud folder sharing is still disappointing — even after generating a public share that anyone with the link can view, it insists you sign into your own iCloud Drive account to see it. This means it *cannot* replace the functionality of Dropbox (which allows web users to view or download the files)... Lame. 


    williamlondon
  • Reply 11 of 19
    tylersdadtylersdad Posts: 310member
    Pretty disappointing update. When is Apple going to finally fix the small version of the keyboard on the iPad mini? It’s completely unusable unless your fingers are the size of a 3-year-olds. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 12 of 19
    tommy65tommy65 Posts: 56member
    So, $150 CAD just to be able to scroll... Not going to happen.  It baffles me why a first gen tack pad doesn’t work.  Can someone explain???
    Simple:”Marketing”. Same with first gen Magic Mouse. I assume gestures support on first gen is limited.
    mike54razorpit
  • Reply 13 of 19
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Ugh, iCloud folder sharing is still disappointing — even after generating a public share that anyone with the link can view, it insists you sign into your own iCloud Drive account to see it. This means it *cannot* replace the functionality of Dropbox (which allows web users to view or download the files)... Lame. 
    I think this was reported on when it was in the previous betas, and was disappointing. I *really* want there to be a public download link option too at minimum, to make this more competitive. 
    williamlondonStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 19
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    mike54 said:
    So, $150 CAD just to be able to scroll... Not going to happen.  It baffles me why a first gen tack pad doesn’t work.  Can someone explain???
    I can't think of a technical reason why this wouldn't work. My first gen magic mouse and trackpad work fine on the mac.
    In absence of a technical reason, I would assume they simply want you to buy new products
    Nope, that is never the reason and it’s been shown to us time and again. You’re not a hardware or software engineer building these products, so you simply don’t know the reasons, nor do I. But it certainly isn’t to aggravate a population of trackpad 1 owners into buying trackpad 2s. It’s too small of a niche to maliciously target, and Apple isn’t in the business of intentionally gimping their user experience for what amounts to a drop in the bucket. In fact their willingness to support legacy devices is part of the reason their iphones and ipads and macs last so damn long and retain high resale value. 
    edited March 2020 fastasleepwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 19
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,139member
    This seems a big upgrade on many fronts...?

    "Emails are automatically encrypted when sent with S/MIME enabled"

    The new S/MIME features are outlined at:   support.apple.com/en-us/HT202345

    More info:    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/MIME#Free_S/MIME_certificate_issuers

    Is the certificate procurement and installation a process ripe for ease of use improvements...?

  • Reply 16 of 19
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    mike54 said:
    So, $150 CAD just to be able to scroll... Not going to happen.  It baffles me why a first gen tack pad doesn’t work.  Can someone explain???
    I can't think of a technical reason why this wouldn't work. My first gen magic mouse and trackpad work fine on the mac.
    In absence of a technical reason, I would assume they simply want you to buy new products
    Nope, that is never the reason and it’s been shown to us time and again. You’re not a hardware or software engineer building these products, so you simply don’t know the reasons, nor do I. But it certainly isn’t to aggravate a population of trackpad 1 owners into buying trackpad 2s. It’s too small of a niche to maliciously target, and Apple isn’t in the business of intentionally gimping their user experience for what amounts to a drop in the bucket. In fact their willingness to support legacy devices is part of the reason their iphones and ipads and macs last so damn long and retain high resale value. 
    In all fairness you don’t know the reason either. It could very well be Apple isn’t going to invest the time getting the feature to work for gen 1 products. Thinking, if people want full features they can upgrade.

    I’m guessing Apple created a whole new API for the second gen products and everyone on gen 1 gets basic support. That seems a lot more plausible than a technical reason that it could never work.
  • Reply 17 of 19
    iPads and multiple users
    I was alerted by the Appleinsider podcast (280) to the fact that Apple are now supporting multiple users of iPads in an Enterprise context. They already did that in an Education context. What is keeping them from allowing this in a domestic context ? Is it simply commercial, i.e. they think we will all but more iPads ? In my case, in a family context, I don't want an iPad per person, so I am buying a MacBook Air instead.
  • Reply 18 of 19
    Night mode activates past the 2X I noticed .. 💯
Sign In or Register to comment.