Second public betas of iOS 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3 and tvOS 15.4 have arrived

Apple has launched a second iOS 15 public beta, as well as released second betas of iOS 15.4, iPadOS 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3 and tvOS 15.4 to public beta testers.

Image showing "iOS 15 New Beta Available" against a colorful background
  • Second betas for iOS 15 and other Apple OS updates available for public testing
  • The second public betas have all the features from Apple’s third developer betas
  • The general public can test features like Universal Control and Face ID With Mask
  • You shouldn’t install Apple’s prerelease software on devices you use every day

Second public betas of iOS 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3

A second iOS 15 public beta is now available. On top of that, new iPadOS 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3 and tvOS 15.4 updates have been released for public testing.

If you already have the first beta of iOS 15.4 or other software installed on your device, use the Software Update feature to check for the second beta. These things are not immediately available to all users at once so check back later if you don’t see iOS 15.2 Public Beta 2 in Settings → General → Software Update.

You may want to sign up for Apple’s beta software program over at beta.apple.com. Then you’ll need to enroll and download special configuration profiles on your devices that will switch Software Update from stable, commercial releases to prerelease software.

What’s new in macOS Monterey 12.3?

The second public beta of macOS Monterey 12.3 brings what could be called the highlight of this release — the anticipated, then delayed Universal Control feature that brings the promise of seamless mouse control across multiple iPads and Macs with zero configuration. Read: How to sign up for and install Apple’s Public Beta

What’s new in iOS 15.4?

On the iOS side of things, for example, a cool new feature will finally enable Face ID to work with masks without requiring the additional Apple Watch hardware.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s new in iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4:

  • Face ID with a mask: As was discovered soon after the beta’s release, Apple is tweaking the process to unlock an iPhone or iPad equipped with Face ID while wearing a mask. The company’s previous option, and one that’s still available, is to unlock your iPhone with Face ID by authenticating via an Apple Watch. However, with this new option Face ID will actually authenticate by taking note of unique features around the eye area to unlock a device. No Apple Watch required.
  • Universal Control: As mentioned above, some features get added and then removed in beta seeds. Universal Control is one such feature. It has cropped up in previous release betas, but we’re still waiting for the final version of the feature. And we might actually be nearing that result. With the latest betas of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, developers (and soon, public beta testers) can finally try out the feature that lets users use a single mouse/trackpad and keyboard with multiple devices, moving from an iPad to a Mac, and back and forth, pretty seamlessly.
  • Emoji: Apple has made it a thing to update the emoji available across its devices with spring updates, and this one’s no different. Apple is adding quite a few new emoji to the mix, with 37 in total, along with more than 70 new skin tone additions. There are more than 100 new additions, all told. That includes a brand new melting face, a face with a hand over the mouth, and others.
  • Keyboard brightness: This one’s meant for iPadOS 15.4. With it, users will be able to use a brand new option in Control Center to quickly and easily adjust the brightness of an eligible keyboard paired with the iPad.
  • Apple Card widget: There is a brand new widget getting added to the mix with iOS 15.4, and it’s designed for the Apple Card. With this widget in place, Apple Card customers will be able to not only see their spending activity, but also their total balance.
  • Notes in iCloud Keychain: With this feature, users will be able to attach notes to any password store in iCloud Keychain.

As we mentioned, you shouldn’t install Apple’s prerelease software on your daily driver. All beta software is a little rough around the edges and Apple’s betas are no exception.