5 Things to Know About the iPadOS 15.4 Update

Apple’s pushed its iPadOS 15.4 update to iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini users.

iPadOS 15.4 is a milestone upgrade and the firmware brings a lengthy list of changes including new features, bug fixes, enhancements, and security patches.

In this walkthrough we’ll take you through the iPadOS 15.4 update’s performance, the current list of iPadOS 15.4 problems, the best places to find feedback about bugs and performance issues, the iPadOS 15.4 jailbreak status, and more.

• iPadOS 15.4 Reviews
• iPadOS 15.4 Problems
• iPadOS 15.4 Features
• iPadOS 15.4 Jailbreak
• What’s Next for iPadOS

We’ll start with a look at the iPadOS 15.4 update’s performance.

iPadOS 15.4 Review

If your tablet is currently running iPadOS 15.3.1, iPadOS 15.4 requires a fairly large download.

If your iPad is running an older version of iPadOS, your download could be larger. That’s because the features and fixes from iPadOS update(s) you skipped are baked into your version of iPadOS 15.4.

The iPadOS 15.4 installation should take in and around 10 minutes to complete. It took about seven minutes to install on one of our older iPad Pro models.

For more on the iPadOS 15.4 download and installation, have a look at our guide.

We’ve been using the iPadOS 15.4 update on an iPad Pro (2018) for several days now and here’s what we’ve learned about its performance thus far:

Connectivity

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

App Performance

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

Speed

• iPadOS 15.4 feels as fast and smooth as iPadOS 15.3.1 did.

If you’ve dealing with bugs or performance issues on iPadOS 15.3.1, or an older version of iPadOS, you should think about installing the iPadOS 15.4 update today.

iPadOS 15.4 Problems

iPadOS 15.4 is causing problems for some iPad users.

The current list of iPadOS 15 problems includes abnormal battery drain, installation issues, Bluetooth issues, issues with first and third-party apps, UI lag, Face ID problems, UI lag, and Wi-Fi issues.

If you run into issues, take a look at our 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 your iPad’s battery life.

If you can’t stand iPadOS 15.4’s performance on your iPad, note that you can’t downgrade to older iPadOS software.

Apple has stopped signing on iPadOS 15.3.1 which means you can’t move your iPad back to the previous version of iPadOS in an effort to improve its performance. Unfortunately, you can’t move your iPad’s software back to anything older than iPadOS 15.3.1 either.

This means those of you jumping up from iPadOS 15.3.1 and below should proceed with caution. Once you make the move to iPadOS 15.4, there’s no going back to your current version of iPadOS.

iPadOS 15.4 Features

Apple’s milestone updates (x.x) almost always bring new features, security patches, and under-the-hood improvements to iPad users and that’s what you get from iPadOS 15.4.

Here’s the full iPadOS 15.4 change log:

Universal Control

• Universal Control allows you to use a single mouse and keyboard across iPad and Mac
• Text can be typed on either iPad or Mac and you can drag and drop files between them

Emoji

• New emoji including faces, hand gestures, and household objects
• Handshake emoji allows you to choose separate skin tones for each hand

FaceTime

• SharePlay sessions can be initiated directly from supported apps

Siri

• Siri can provide time and date information while offline on iPad Pro with A12Z Bionic and later
• Siri now includes an additional voice, expanding the diversity of options

Enhancements

• Volume controls can be set to adjust as you rotate your iPad, on iPad (5th generation and newer), iPad mini (4th and 5th generation), iPad Air 2, iPad Air (3rd and 4th generation), and iPad Pro
• iCloud custom email domains can be managed from Settings
• Safari webpage translation adds support for Italian and Chinese (Traditional)
• Podcasts app adds episode filters for seasons, played, unplayed, saved, or downloaded episodes
• News offers enhanced discovery of audio content in the Today feed and Audio tab
• Camera in keyboard can be used to add text to Notes and Reminders
• Shortcuts adds support for tags in Reminders; add, remove, or query tags when creating and editing Shortcuts
• Security recommendations can now be hidden
• Saved passwords can now include your own notes in Settings

Bug Fixes

• Fix for an issue where the keyboard may insert period between typed numbers
• Fix for an issue where News widgets in Today View may not open articles when tapped
• Fix for an issue where Photos and videos may not sync to iCloud Photo Library
• Fix for an issue where Speak Screen Accessibility feature may quit unexpectedly within the Books app
• Fix for an issue where Live Listen may not turn off when switched off in Control Center

iPadOS 15.4 also comes with 36 new security patches and you can learn more about them over on the company’s security site.

Also of note, iPadOS 15.4 quietly brought a new feature to the Notes app. The software allows users to scan handwritten text into the Notes app.

You can get a good look at the feature in Apple’s official video above.

iPadOS 15.4 Jailbreak

If you still jailbreak, make sure you avoid the iPadOS 15.4 update.

The developer teams behind the Checkra1n and unC0ver jailbreaking tools have released versions that are compatible with newer versions of iPadOS 14, but they aren’t compatible with iPadOS 15.

What’s Next

It’s unclear when the next version of iPadOS 15 will emerge.

iPadOS 15.4 was the last known iPadOS 15 upgrade in Apple’s pipeline so it’s unclear when we’ll see the next version of the firmware emerge.

We fully expect Apple to push a new version of iPadOS 15 into beta testing in the near future so keep an eye out as we press on into the month.

Install iOS 15.8.2 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, and you missed older versions of iOS 15, you'll want to think about installing Apple's iOS 15.8.2 update right away. iOS 15.8.2 doesn't have any security updates on board. But, if you missed prior versions of iOS 15, you'll get their patches when you upgrade. iOS 15.8.1 wasn't a big update, but it did have a pair of security patches on board. They're important and they will help protect your device from harm.  iOS 15.8 had an important security patch on board.  iOS 15.7.9 brought a new security patch with it. It addressed an issue where hackers could gain access via PassKit (Apple Wallet) image. For more information, head over to Apple's website. iOS 15.7.8 had 10 security patches on board. These patches are essential if you want to keep your device and its data safe from harm. Apple's outlined the changes in detail and they're worth a look. iOS 15.7.7 brought three security patches to iPhone models lingering on iOS 15. For more about them, head over to Apple's security site. iOS 15.7.6 had several security updates on board. For more information about those patches, head here. The iOS 15.7.5 update patched up actively exploited vulnerabilities making it an extremely important upgrade for your iPhone. To learn more about the patches, check out Apple's guide. iOS 15.7.4 brought important security fixes to older iPhone models as well. If you want to learn more about these changes, check out Apple's guide. iOS 15.7.3 also brought a batch of security patches to iPhone. You can learn more about these changes right here. iOS 15.7.2 brought numerous patches along with it. For more about them, head over to Apple's website for more details. iOS 15.7.1 update brought 17 security patches with it while iOS 15.7 delivered 11 security patches to iPhone. If you want a look at the details, head over to Apple's security site for more information. If you missed iOS 15.6.1, it had two security patches on board. You can read more about the pair on Apple's website. If you missed Apple's iOS 15.6 update, it had 30+ security upgrades on board. You can learn more about them right here. If you missed iOS 15.5 it brought 27 new security patches to the iPhone. You can learn more about these patches over on Apple's security site. If you missed iOS 15.4.1, it had one new security patch on board. You can read more about it over on Apple's website.  If you missed the iOS 15.4 update, it had a whopping 36 new security patches on board. If you want to learn more about these patches, head on over to Apple's security site for the particulars.  If you missed iOS 15.3.1, it had one security patch on board. For more about it, head over to Apple's security page.  If you missed iOS 15.3, you'll also get its patches with your upgrade. iOS 15.3 brought 10 new security patches to iPhone users. If you're interested in the details, you can read more about them right here. If you missed iOS 15.2.1, you'll get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about the change over on Apple's website.  If you missed Apple's iOS 15.2 update, you'll get its 30+ security patches with your upgrade. You can read all about them over on the company's security site.  iOS 15.2 also included some important upgrades to privacy. The software brought the company's App Privacy Report to Settings. This lets you see how often your apps have accessed your location, photos, camera, microphone, contacts and more during the last seven days. You can also see their network activity.  In addition, iOS 15.2 brought Apple's communication safety features for kids. You'll find these features in the Messages app, in Siri, in Spotlight, and in Search.  If you missed iOS 15.1, iOS 15.8.2 will bring its security patches to your iPhone. You can read more about them on Apple's website.  If you missed iOS 15.0.2 you'll also get its security patch with your upgrade. You can learn more about it right here. iOS 15.0 also brought numerous security patches to your iPhone. If you'll be moving up from iOS 14 and you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website. Apple's updated its website with new information about iOS 15's batch of security patches. The company now says the software patched up an issue that could have exposed a user's private Apple ID information and in-app search history. It also says iOS 15 patched up an issue that allowed apps to override Privacy preferences. If you skipped iOS 14.8 or any older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 15.8.2 update as well.  In addition to those patches, iOS 15 comes with some security and privacy upgrades including improvements to Siri. Requests made to Siri are now processed on the device itself using Neural Engine. This makes it more secure.  If you're an Apple Card user, you'll now get a security code that changes regularly to use when you make online transactions.  Apple's also included a built-in authenticator that's similar to Google Authenticator. This will let you generate verification codes for enhanced sign-in security under your Passwords. There's also a Mail feature that hides your IP address.

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