Christmas has been a long one at Apple when it comes to beta releases. In other circumstances we would already have several operating system betas behind us and we could even have the official versions, but iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 are still in the beta process. The second was launched yesterday, available now for developers and public testers. In this post we summarize the main novelties found in these versions.
What’s new in these betas?
The good thing about the betas is that we can know in advance news that the next software will bring to our devices and in this case they are not rumors or alleged leaks, since they are launched by Apple itself so that developers can test their tools in these versions . Although we could intuit little news of iOS and iPadOS 14.4 because they are already somewhat advanced versions, the truth is that it brings interesting functions. These are the three main novelties that have been found:
- What’s new with third-party Bluetooth devices, and now when you connect one of these accessories you can choose the type of product it is (speaker, headphones, car accessory, etc.). In this way, the iPhone can establish better communication with the device knowing what it is exactly.
- New section in Trainings and it is that indications have been found that the Apple Watch could have a new section in watchOS 7.3 in which walking workouts can be guided.
- Visual novelties in the HomePod beta and is that new effects appear when music is transferred from a HomePod mini to an iPhone with a U1 chip, that is, the family of iPhone 11 and iPhone 12. It should be noted that this beta version for speakers of Apple is only available on a limited basis and is not open to everyone.
It should be noted that these news have been detected by the well-known medium MacRumors, who have published an article commenting on these developments in iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4.
Other betas available now
Along with those of iOS and iPadOS, Apple has also released the respective second beta versions of macOS 11.2, tvOS 14.4 and watchOS 7.3 , in such a way that all Apple products have their future software versions already in place. Unlike what was seen in the previous section, the aforementioned Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch betas do not bring hardly any noteworthy news beyond the always present performance improvements and error correction, although we will be aware of any possible news that is can find in them.
When will they officially reach the iPhone, iPad and company?
Well, as usual, Apple does not give dates of when these versions could be ready for all the public. We already commented at the beginning that under normal circumstances we could have them ready, but since the first betas were launched in December and the second have not been ready until now, everything indicates that we will have to wait a few more weeks. By proxy, they could even be ready next week since their performance is good, but for technical purposes it would be a bit hasty and we may have to wait until mid-February to see the official launch for all users.
