If you’re the sort of tech lover who hates waiting for cool updates and loves to get in on the bottom floor of trends, you may have already heard that Apple’s iOS 16.4, which is beginning to roll out but is still in beta form, is slated to include a slew of fun-sounding features. Among them: the introduction of 21 new emojis that include three new hearts (pink, gray, and blue), a jellyfish, and two hands you can push together to form a high five.
Maybe you’re thinking: sounds cute! Sounds like the kind of emojis you want to send NOW to friends and family before everyone is passing them along and you’ve already grown tired of them. If you consider yourself a trailblazer, here’s the good news: you CAN get these emojis way before anyone else. Here’s how to get them before the iOS update is complete (and some caveats you may want to think about).
What iOS 16.4 updates can you expect?
In order to make an informed decision, you may be curious about all of the expected iOS 16.4 updates and whether they’re worth speeding things along for. In addition to the adorable emojis listed above, you can expect a Shaking Face emoji, a new smiley emoji, a donkey, goose, moose, black bird, wing, pea pod, and ginger; as well as maracas, a wireless symbol, flute, folding hand fan, hair pick, hyacinth, and Khanda symbol. Other cool updates expected include a Podcast Channel in the Library, the ability for websites to send notifications to your home once you add them to your Home screen, and a 5G Standalone setting. Up Next has also been upgraded for iOS and CarPlay.
Interested in trying it out? Here’s how to get these updates before anyone else.
Try iOS 16.4 Public Beta 1
If you have an iPhone 8 or a newer version, you can try out iOS 16.4 Public Beta by heading to the Apple Beta Program Website on your iPhone and signing in with your Apple ID. From here, you’ll have to enroll your device in the program, download a profile, and then follow the instructions listed to install it to your phone. By doing this, you are agreeing to try out the upgrade before it has been finalized, which means, yes, you have access to cool features and emojis before anyone else. But it’s important to know that you are also running the risk of dealing with any bugs and issues that may come up. If that does happen, it will be your responsibility to restore your device — and if you haven’t backed up your data and files, you could lose them, so take care to do this first.
