News: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Public Beta 5 for iPhone

Apple released the fifth public beta for iOS 13.4 on March 10. The update comes three hours after the release of developer beta 5, and exactly one week after iOS 13.4 public beta 4.

Apple seeded iOS 13.4 public beta 5 to testers at 1 p.m. PDT. It releases public betas after the developer versions so it can see if there are any significant issues before the broader tester pool installs the software.

Because iOS 13.4 dev beta 5 had a three-hour head start on public beta 5, we have a grasp on what the update brings to the table. The answer? Not much.

• Update: Apple's iOS 13.4 Public Beta 6 Is Now Available

So far, we've discovered zero new surface-level features or changes to iOS 13.4. Based on our experience and the release notes that Apple published, beta 5 is likely just an under-the-hood stability patch. That could imply a public launch of 13.4 in the coming weeks, but a sixth beta is entirely possible as well.

iOS & iPadOS 13.4 Beta 5 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 5 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 download and install iOS 13.4 public beta 5, sign up through Apple's beta site, download and install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update to begin the installation of the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.