News: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Developer Beta 4 for iPhone

March is looking to be an eventful month for Apple. Even with coronavirus throwing the tech industry into uncertainty, we still expect Apple to release the iPhone SE 2, the long-awaited follow up to the iPhone SE. Is it possible we'll also see iOS 13.4 fully released this month? We wouldn't be surprised if we do, seeing as Apple just released its fourth developer beta.

Apple seeded developers the iOS 13.4 dev beta 4 on Tuesday, March 3, just after 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST). For future reference, it's the time of day Apple usually releases developer betas, so it wasn't a surprise for beta 4. If you're a public beta tester, iOS 13.4 public beta 4 came out just three hours later.

• Update: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Developer Beta 5 for iPhone

So, what's in iOS 13.4 beta 4? Temper your expectations. While betas 1 and 2 were relatively feature-filled, beta 3 and 4's changelog was quite tight. Really, the only new development observed was evidence of an upcoming OTA recovery mode, which would allow you to put your iPhone into recovery mode without needing to plug into a Mac or PC first.

iOS & iPadOS 13.4 Beta 4 Release Notes

Overview

• The iOS & iPadOS 13.4 SDK provides support to develop apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS & iPadOS 13.4. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 11.4, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 11.4, see Xcode 11.4 Beta 3 Release Notes.

General - Known Issues

• To install iOS 13.4 beta 4 using the Restore Image, first install Xcode 11.4 beta 2.

Keyboard - New Features

• QuickType Keyboard now supports predictive input for Arabic.
• QuickType Keyboard now supports Live Conversion for Japanese and Chinese (Zhuyin).
• QuickType Keyboard now supports Swiss German layout for 12.9-inch iPad layout.

Keyboard - Resolved Issues

• 12.9-inch iPad layouts for several languages now match the hardware keyboard layouts.

Location Services - New Features

• When an app requests Always authorization for the first time after having previously been authorized for While Using the App, the device immediately presents the location authorization prompt. (57106235)

Photos - New Features

• New keyboard shortcuts are available in Photos on iPadOS, which create quick navigation between tabs, search, and create albums. While in full screen mode, you can also delete, duplicate, and enter Edit mode using a keyboard. (57195967)

RealityKit - Known Issues

• After updating to iOS & iPadOS 13.4, you won't be able to synchronize scenes with peers using earlier versions of RealityKit due to a fundamental change in the physics system. If two peers running a MultipeerConnectivityService have incompatible versions, they will remain connected in the underlying MCSession but won't synchronize scenes. iOS & iPadOS 13.4 adds a new NetworkCompatibilityToken class so a host can avoid inviting incompatible clients to its MCSession. Please see the NetworkCompatibilityToken documentation for additional details. (59262764)

SwiftUI - New Features

• When using a NavigationView with multiple columns, the navigation bar now shows a control to toggle the columns. (49074511)
• The onDrag and onDrop modifiers are now available on iOS. (49661347)

To update your iPhone to iOS 13.4 dev beta 4, you need to be a registered developer. You can use the restore image for your iPhone available in the Developer portal (install with iTunes or Finder) or install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile installed on your iPhone, head over to Settings –> General –> Software Update to start installing the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.