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5 Things to Know About the iOS 13.4 Update

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Apple finally released its long-awaited iOS 13.4 update and iOS 13.3.1’s successor brings a collection of important changes to the iPhone.

The iOS 13.4 update is fourth milestone upgrade for the company’s iOS 13 operating system. This means it brings more than just bug fixes and other under-the-hood improvements. Milestone (x.x) updates always brings new features along with them.

As expected, iOS 13.4 includes a mix of fixes, security patches, and brand new features for the iPhone.

With that in mind, we want to take you through everything there is to know about the latest update for the iPhone and iOS 13.

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In this guide to iOS 13.4 we’ll take you through iOS 13.4’s performance, the current list of iOS 13.4 problems, the best places to find feedback about bugs and performance issues, the iOS 13.4 jailbreak status, and more.

We’ll start with our impressions of iOS 13.4 update’s performance on iPhone.

iOS 13.4 Reviews

If your iPhone is running iOS 13.3.1 right now you’ll see a large download. The iOS 13.4 update is a 851 MB download for the iPhone X and it’s around the same for other versions of the iPhone.

If you’re running an older version of iOS 13 on your phone you’ll more than likely see a larger download size because your iOS 13.4 update includes the changes from any iOS updates you skipped.

If your phone is on iOS 13.3.1, the iOS 13.4 installation shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on the iPhone X.

For more on the iOS 13.4 download and installation, take a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iOS 13.4 update on the iPhone for several days now and here’s what we’ve noticed about its performance thus far:

Connectivity

  • Battery life is stable right now.
  • Wi-Fi connectivity is currently fast and reliable.
  • Bluetooth is working normally.
  • GPS and cellular data are stable.

Apps

  • Third-party apps including Netflix, Dark Sky, Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are all stable right now.
  • First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also working fine at the moment.

Speed

  • iOS 13.4 feels as fast as iOS 13.3.1 and iOS 13.3.

If your iPhone is struggling on iOS 13.3.1 or an older version of iOS 13, you might want to go ahead and install the iOS 13.4 update right now.

If you need help making a decision, please check out our reasons to, and not to, install the iOS 13.4 update. It’ll help you make a decision.

We’ve also published our mini iOS 13.4 reviews for the iPhone 11, iPhone XS, iPhone XRiPhone X, iPhone 8iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, and iPhone SE so make sure you check those for additional feedback if you need it.

iOS 13.4 Problems

iOS 13.4 is causing problems for some iPhone users. Some of the problems are brand new while others have carried over from older versions of iOS.

The current list of iOS 13.4 problems includes installation problems, lag, Exchange issues, problems with first and third-party apps, hotspot problems, weird battery drain, and issues with Touch ID and Face ID. There’s also an issue that keeps VPN’s from encrypting traffic. It’s also present in iOS 13.3.1.

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If you run into an issue on iOS 13.4, have a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 13 problems. We’ve also released some tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and some tips to help fix bad iOS 13 battery life.

If you can’t handle the iOS 13.4 update’s performance, note that you can no longer downgrade to the previous version of iOS 13 (iOS 13.3.1).

Apple’s also stopped signing on iOS 13.3 and below as well which means you can’t drop your phone back to older versions of iOS 13. Keep that in mind before you install iOS 13.4 on your phone.

If your phone is really struggling and you don’t want to downgrade, you can try moving it to the iOS 13.4.5 beta.

iOS 13.4 Update: What’s New

The iOS 13.4 update brings a long list of changes to the iPhone. The list includes nine new Animoji and Memoji stickers, iCloud Folder sharing, a status bar indicator to display when VPN has disconnected on iPhone models with all-screen displays, and a lot more.

Here’s the full list of changes on board iOS 13.4:

Memoji

  • Nine new Memoji stickers, including Smiling Face with Hearts, Hands Pressed Together, and Party Face

Files

  • iCloud Drive folder sharing from the Files app
  • Controls to limit access only to people you explicitly invite or grant access to anyone with the folder link
  • Permissions to choose who can make changes and upload files and who can only view and download files

Mail

  • Always-visible controls to delete, move, reply to, or compose a message in conversation view
  • Responses to encrypted emails are automatically encrypted when you have configured S/MIME

App Store with Apple Arcade

  • Universal Purchase support enables the use of a singular purchase of a participating app across iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
  • Recently played Arcade games appear in the Arcade tab so you can continue playing on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV
  • List view for See All Games

CarPlay

  • Third-party navigation app support for the CarPlay Dashboard
  • In-call information appears on the CarPlay Dashboard

Augmented Reality

  • AR Quick Look supports audio playback in USDZ files

Keyboard

  • Predictive typing support for Arabic
  • Improves the Burmese keyboard so punctuation symbols are now accessible from numbers and symbols

Bug Fixes

  • Fixes an issue in Camera where the viewfinder may appear as a black screen after launch
  • Addresses an issue where Photos may appear to use excess storage
  • Resolves an issue in Photos that may prevent sharing an image to Messages if iMessage is disabled
  • Fixes an issue in Mail where messages may appear out of order
  • Addresses an issue in Mail where the conversation list may display empty rows
  • Resolves an issue where Mail may crash when tapping the Share button in Quick Look
  • Fixes an issue in Settings where cellular data may incorrectly display as off
  • Addresses an issue in Safari where webpages may not be inverted when both Dark Mode and Smart Invert are active
  • Resolves an issue where text copied from web content may appear invisible when pasted when Dark Mode is active
  • Fixes an issue in Safari where a CAPTCHA tile may display incorrectly
  • Addresses an issue where Reminders may not issue new notifications for an overdue recurring reminder until it is marked as completed
  • Resolves an issue where Reminders may send notifications for completed reminders
  • Fixes an issue where iCloud Drive appears to be available in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote even when not signed in
  • Addresses an issue in Apple Music where music videos may not stream in high quality
  • Resolves an issue where CarPlay may lose its connection in certain vehicles
  • Fixes an issue in CarPlay where the view in Maps may move away briefly from the current area
  • Addresses an issue in the Home app where tapping an activity notification from a security camera may open a different recording
  • Resolves an issue where Shortcuts may not appear when tapping on the Share menu from a screenshot

iOS 13.4 also includes 28 security patches and you can read more about them right here.

iOS 13 Jailbreak

The current jailbreak tool supports iOS 13.3.1, but it’s unclear if it supports iOS 13.4. We should find out for sure in the near future.

For now, those who still jailbreak their iPhone should avoid upgrading.

What’s Next

iOS 13.4 might be followed by iOS 13.4.5.

Apple’s pushed iOS 13.4.5, a point upgrade, into beta testing ahead of an unknown release date. The update will likely carry bug fixes and security patches.

We don’t have a release date to look forward to, but odds are good the software rolls out in April or early May after its stint in testing.

For more on iOS 13.4.5, take a look at our guide.

WWDC 2020 will feature an online format.

Apple’s also hard at work on iOS 14 and we expect the company to push the software into beta in June shortly after the conclusion of its WWDC 2020 keynote.

For more on iOS 14 and its release, take a look at our guide.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 13.7 & 11 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 13.7 for Better Security

Install iOS 13.7 for Better Security

If security is important to you, think about installing the iOS 13.7 update.

iOS 13.7 doesn't have any known security patches on board. That said, if you skipped iOS 13.6 or an older version of iOS, you'll get security patches with your upgrade. 

iOS 13.6 had more than 20 patches for security issues on board which made it an extremely important update. If you skipped iOS 13.6, you get the patches with iOS 13.7. 

If you want to learn more about iOS 13.6's security patches, head on over to Apple's security site for more information.

If you skipped iOS 13.5.1, you get its security patch with your upgrade to iOS 13.7. You can read more about it on Apple's website. The patch is for an exploit used by jailbreak developers. 

If you skipped iOS 13.5, iOS 13.7 brings iOS 13.5's 41 new security patches with it. Apple's posted the details on its website and you can dig into the particulars if you're interested. 

Among them, patches for the company's Mail app, Wi-Fi, AirDrop, Bluetooth, FaceTime, Messages, and Notifications.  

If you skipped the iOS 13.4 update, you'll get iOS 13.4's 28 security patches with your upgrade. You can read about all of them on Apple's website right here

iOS 13.4 also brought several improvements to Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention. Apple's John Wilander outlined them in a blog post and it's worth checking out. 

Reports have outlined a vulnerability in Wi-Fi chips made by Broadcom and Cypress Semiconductor that left billions of devices susceptible to attack.

Dubbed Kr00k, the vulnerability allows nearby attackers to decrypt sensitive information that's relayed over-the-air. 

Fortunately, it looks like the issue was patched up with the release of iOS 13.2, an update that arrived all the way back in October. 

So if you're running a really old version of iOS 13, you'll really want to move your device up to the newest version of iOS 13. 

If you skipped iOS 13.3.1, you get its patches with iOS 13.7.

The iOS 13.3.1 update included 21 new security patches that will help protect your device from harm. The company's outlined those patches in detail if you want to dig in. 

If you skipped iOS 13.3, you get its patches with iOS 13.7. iOS 13.3 brought 12 new security patches to the iPhone and you can read about each one over on Apple's security page

The iOS 13.3 update also added support for NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in the Safari browser. 

If you missed iOS 13.2, it had 16 new security patches on board. You can read about all of them on Apple's website right here

iOS 13.1.1 brought a security patch for a third-party keyboard issue to your iPhone. If you're interested in the particulars, you can read about them over on Apple's website.

If you passed on installing iOS 13.1, you get an additional patch with your iOS 13.7 update. You can learn more right here

If you're moving up from iOS 12, you'll get iOS 13.0's nine security patches with your upgrade to iOS 13.7. Read about those here.  

If you skipped iOS 12.4.1 or any older versions of iOS 12, you'll get their security patches with your iOS 13.7 update. 

iOS 12.4.1 only had one patch on board, but Apple's iOS 12.4 update brought 19 security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the specifics, you can read about them on right here.

In addition to those patches, iOS 13 itself comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improved anti-tracking features in Safari and the ability to get rid of location metadata in your photos.

You also now have the ability to block apps from using Bluetooth and the ability to allow apps to access your location just once.

iOS 13 will also send you reminders about applications that track your data. 

Last update on 2024-03-11. This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read our disclosure policy for more details. Images via Amazon API

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