Apple’s first iOS 16.4 public beta has new emoji and push notifications from web apps

Apple has let loose public beta versions of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3 equipped with new emoji, web app push notifications on the mobile operating systems, and more. The release comes a day after developers were given access to the new software.

New Apple software releases are some of the first places to try the latest emoji sets before all other devices adopt them, and iOS 16.4 is no exception. You’re getting new ones from Unicode 15.0, including the “stop right there”-looking hand and a ginger root, so you can finally ask for a juice blend at the gym cafe using only emoji.

In order to install the iOS 16.4 beta on your iPhone and iPad, you need to sign up with Apple to enable public beta installs via its beta software portal. The process involves you agreeing to lots of terms and conditions — beta software isn’t final and might introduce new problems or cause issues with your device — and then installing a profile on your phone that lets the update show up in Settings > General > Software Update.

However, once you’re running iOS 16.4, things should be simpler, as future beta tests will simply be linked to your Apple ID — no profile installations necessary.