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5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 13.4 Update

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iPadOS 13.4 is officially out and iPadOS 13.3.1’s successor brings a long list of changes to the iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

The iPadOS 13.4 update serves as Apple’s fourth milestone upgrade (x.x) for iPadOS. Apple’s milestone upgrades always bring more than just bug fixes and security patches with them and iOS 13.4 is no different.

With all of that in mind, we want to guide you through the most important things to know right now about the iPadOS 13.4 update.

This guide goes over the iPadOS 13.4 update’s performance, the current state of iPadOS 13.4 problems, places to look for feedback about iPadOS 13.4’s performance, the iPadOS 13 jailbreak, and more.

We’ll start with our quick impressions of iPadOS 13.4’s performance.

iPadOS 13.4 Reviews

If you’re currently running iPadOS 13.3.1, you’re looking at fairly large download. The update is a 800+MB on an older iPad Pro model and it should be around the same for other iPad models.

If you’re on iPadOS 13.3.1, the iPadOS 13.4 installation should take less than 15 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on one of our iPad Pros.

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

We’ve been using the iPadOS 13.4 update on the iPad Pro for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned thus far:

Connectivity

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

Apps

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

Speed

  • iPadOS 13.4 feels as fast as iPadOS 13.3.1.

If you’re dealing with problems on iPadOS 13.3.1 or an older version of iPadOS 13, you might want to install iPadOS 13.4 update right now.

If you need help making a decision, take a look at our list of reasons to, and not to, install iPadOS 13.4.

iPadOS 13.4 Problems

The iPadOS 13.4 update fixes several bugs, but the update has some issues of its own.

The current list of iPadOS 13.4 problems includes installation issues, Exchange problems, weird battery drain, issues with first and third-party apps, issues with Face ID, UI lag, Wi-Fi issues, Bluetooth issues, and various other bugs and performance issues.

If you encounter a problem on your tablet, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common software issues. We’ve also released tips that will help you improve performance and tips that should help you improve battery life.

If you can’t handle the iPadOS 13.4 update’s performance on your iPad note that you can no longer downgrade back to iPadOS 13.3.1 in an attempt to improve its performance. You can’t move back to anything older than iPadOS 13.3.1 either.

That means those of you jumping up from iPadOS 13.3.1 and below need to approach the iPadOS 13.4 update with caution. Once you make the move, there’s no going back.

That said, if your tablet is really struggling, you can try moving it to the iPadOS 13.4.5 beta.

iPadOS 13.4 Update: What’s New

The iPadOS 13.4 update brings a long list of changes to the iPad line.

The list includes iCloud Folder Sharing (a feature that was originally shown off last year at WWDC), new keyboard shortcuts for Photos, new Animoji and Memoji stickers, and a few other features.

iPadOS 13.4 also bring trackpad support to iPad. And rather than copy the experience straight from macOS, the company is delivering a new experience for iPad users

Trackpad support will be available on any iPad running iPadOS 13.4 and it will work with Apple’s Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2 and the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Third-party mice connected over Bluetooth or USB are also supported.

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

Mouse and Trackpad Support

  • All-new cursor design highlights app icons on the Home Screen and Dock and buttons and controls in apps
  • Magic Keyboard for iPad support on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation or later) and iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation or later)
  • Magic Mouse, Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad, Magic Trackpad 2, and third-party Bluetooth and USB mouse support
  • Multi-Touch gestures on Magic Keyboard for iPad and Magic Trackpad 2 enable you to scroll, swipe between app spaces, go Home, access App Switcher, zoom in or out, tap to click, secondary click (right-click), and swipe between pages
  • Multi-Touch gestures on Magic Mouse 2 enable you to scroll, secondary click (right-click), and swipe between pages

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

Memoji

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

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

Augmented Reality

  • AR Quick Look supports audio playback in USDZ files

Keyboard

  • Live Conversion for Zhuyin automatically transforms Zhuyin into the correct characters without pressing the space bar to convert text or select candidates
  • Live Conversion for Japanese automatically transforms Hiragana into the correct characters without pressing the space bar to convert text or select candidates
  • Predictive typing support for Arabic
  • Swiss German keyboard layout supported on iPad Pro 12.9-inch
  • On-screen keyboard layout for iPad Pro 12.9-inch now matches Smart Keyboard

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 in a third-party app may appear invisible when pasted if 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
  • 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
  • Improves the Burmese keyboard so punctuation symbols are now accessible from numbers and symbols

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

iPadOS 13.4 Jailbreak

The current jailbreak tool supports newer versions of iPadOS 13, but it’s unclear if it supports iPadOS 13.4. We should find out for sure in the near future.

For now, those of you who still jailbreak should avoid upgrading to iPadOS 13.4.

What’s Next

iPadOS 13.4 might be followed by iPadOS 13.4.5.

Apple’s pushed iPadOS 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 for your tablet.

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

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 iPadOS 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 Apple’s new software, take a look at our guide.

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

Install iPadOS 13.7 for Better Security

Install iPadOS 13.7 for Better Security

If you value your security, you'll want to install iPadOS 13.7 in the near future. 

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

The iPadOS 13.6 update brought more than 20 security patches to the iPad line. That made it an important upgrade for most users. You'll get these patches if you skipped iPadOS 13.6.  

If you skipped iPadOS 13.5.1, you get its security patch with your upgrade. It's baked in. 

If you skipped iPadOS 13.5, iPadOS 13.7 includes iPadOS 13.5's 41 security patches which you can about on the company's security site

The list includes patches for the company's Mail app, Wi-Fi, AirDrop, Bluetooth, FaceTime, Messages, and Notifications. 

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

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 iPadOS 13.2, an update that arrived all the way back in October. 

If you're currently running a much older version of iPadOS 13 on your tablet, you'll probably want to update your iPad right now. 

If you skipped iPadOS 13.3.1 you'll get its patches with your upgrade. The iPadOS 13.3.1 had 21 new security patches on board. If you want to dig into the specifics, you can do so right here.  

If you skipped a previous version of iPadOS 13, you'll get additional security patches with your upgrade to iPadOS 13.7.

If you skipped iPadOS 13.3, you get its 12 security patches with your upgrade. You can read about each one over on Apple's security page

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

If you missed iPadOS 13.2, it had 16 new security patches on board. You can read about them on Apple's security website

If you missed iPadOS 13.1.1, you get a security patch for a third-party keyboard issue. If you're interested in the particulars, you can read about the patch on Apple's website.

If you passed on installing iPadOS 13.1, you get another patch with your iPadOS 13.7 update. You can learn more about it right here

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

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

In addition to those patches, iPadOS 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 have the ability to block apps from using Bluetooth and the ability to allow apps to access your location just once.

The operating system will also send you reminders about applications that track your data. 

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