It's time to update all of your Apple devices again. Here's why

March 27, 2023

`It's time to update all of your Apple devices again. Here's why`

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It’s time to update all of your Apple devices again. Here’s why

Apple just released iOS 16.4 with over 30 security fixes iPhone, alongside updates for Mac, iPad and more.

Written by Jason Cipriani, Contributing Writer on

Yellow iPhone 14 Plus on wooden background — Jason Cipriani/ZDNET

Apple on Monday released software updates for its hardware lineup. The updates include new features, such as new emojis, along with overall performance improvements and bug fixes. More specifically, Apple released iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, MacOS 13.3, WatchOS 9.4, tvOS 16.4, and HomePod software version 16.4.

Perhaps most importantly, there’s a long list of security fixes included in Monday’s updates. Apple’s security site was updated shortly after the new software was released, detailing over 30 security issues that were fixed for the iPhone and iPad alone.

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You can download all of the updates through the normal process for the respective device. For instance, on the iPhone, you need to open the Settings app and then go to General > Software update.

There are a total of 31 new emoji included in the latest update. There are new animals and hand gestures, like a pink heart (finally!), a moose, and a shaking face.

Apple also improved the Crash Detection feature for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models in iOS 16.4, which should hopefully mean it’s more accurate and lowers the frequency of false alarms.

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Apple also expanded the ability for the Photos app to remove duplicates to Shared Photo Libraries, instead of limiting it to your personal photo library.

As for WatchOS 9.4, Apple has fixed the ability to silence your alarm by covering the face of the watch to avoid accidentally silencing an alarm in your sleep.

Even if you don’t care about the new emojis, it’s worth updating to the latest software on your Apple devices for the security fixes alone.