Technologies
iOS 16.4 Is Almost Here. Public Beta Testers Can Try These Features Now
The release of iOS 16.4 is around the corner, but public beta testers don’t have to wait for these new features.

The wait for iOS 16.4 is almost over. Apple released iOS 16.4 beta 3 to public beta testers Wednesday, about a week after the company released the second iOS 16.4 public beta. This third beta means the wide unveiling of iOS 16.4 is probably close at hand. Beta testers can now try out new iOS features, like new emoji and updates to Apple Books.


These features are available only to people who are a part of Apple’s Beta Software Program. New iOS features can be fun, but we recommend downloading a beta only onto something other than your primary phone, just in case the new software causes issues. Apple provides beta testers with an app called Feedback. The app lets testers notify Apple of any issues in the new software so the problem can be addressed before general release.
Here are some of the new features testers can find in the iOS 16.4 betas.
Apple ID and beta software updates


The latest beta lets you sign into another Apple ID to access other beta software.
Zach McAuliffe/CNETWith the third iOS 16.4 beta, developers and beta testers can check whether their Apple ID is associated with the developer beta, public beta or both. If you have a different Apple ID, like one for your job, that has access to beta updates, iOS 16.4 beta 3 also lets you switch to that account from your device.
Apple Books updates
The iOS 16.4 beta 2 update brings the page-turn curl animation back to Apple Books, after it was removed in a previous iOS update. Before, when you turned a page in an e-book on your iPhone, the page would slide to one side of your screen or it would vanish and be replaced by the next page. Beta testers can still choose these other page-turn animations in addition to the curl animation.
With iOS 16.4 beta 3, a new popup appears when you open Apple Books for the first time after downloading the update. It lets you know you can change your page-turn animation, theme and more.
31 new emoji
The first iOS 16.4 beta software brought 31 new emoji to your iOS device. The new emoji include a new smiley; new animals, like a moose and a goose; and new heart colors, like pink and light blue.


Some of the new emoji released in the first iOS 16.4 beta.
Patrick Holland/CNETThe new emoji all come from Unicode’s September 2022 recommendation list, Emoji 15.0.
Apple Podcasts updates
The first beta brought a few changes to how you navigate Apple Podcasts. Now you can access podcast channels you subscribe to in your Library. You can also use Up Next to resume podcast episodes you’ve started, start episodes you’ve saved and remove episodes you want to skip.
Preview Mastodon links in Messages
Apple’s first iOS 16.4 beta enabled rich previews of Mastodon links in Messages. That’s good because Mastodon saw a 400% increase in the rate of new accounts in December, so you might be receiving Mastodon links in Messages.
Music app changes


A small banner appears at the bottom of the screen when you choose to play a song next in Apple Music in the frst iOS 16.4 beta.
Zach McAuliffe/CNETThe Music interface has been slightly modified in the first iOS 16.4 beta. When you add a song to your queue, a small banner appears near the bottom of your screen instead of a full-screen pop-up.
See who and what is covered under AppleCare
Starting with iOS 16.4 beta 1, you could go to Settings to check who and what devices are covered on your AppleCare plan. With iOS 16.4 beta 2, this menu will show you a small icon next to each device that’s covered under AppleCare.
Focus Mode, Shortcuts and always-on display
If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, iOS 16.4 beta 1 lets you enable or disable the always-on display option with certain Focus Modes. A new option in Shortcuts called Set Always on Display was also added, in addition to new Lock Screen and Set VPN actions.
New Apple Wallet widgets
You can add three new order-tracking widgets for Apple Wallet to your home screen with the first iOS 16.4 beta. Each widget displays your tracking information on active orders, but the widgets are different sizes: small, medium and large.


The medium-size Apple Wallet order tracking widget takes up three tile spaces on your iPhone’s screen.
Zach McAuliffe/CNETMore accessibility options
The first beta update added a new accessibility option, too. The new option is called Dim Flashing Lights, and it can be found in the Motion menu in Settings. The option’s description says video content that depicts repeated flashing or strobing lights will automatically be dimmed. Video timelines will also show when flashing lights will occur.
New keyboards, Siri voices and language updates
The first iOS 16.4 beta added keyboards for the Choctaw and Chickasaw languages, and there are new Siri voices for Arabic and Hebrew. Language updates have also come to Korean, Ukrainian, Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu.
There’s no word on when iOS 16.4 will be released to the general public. There’s no guarantee these beta features will be released with iOS 16.4, or that these will be the only features released with the update.
For more, check out how to become an Apple beta tester, what was included in iOS 16.3.1 and features you may have missed in iOS 16.3.
Technologies
Why Are Switch 2 Games So Expensive? Trump’s Tariffs May Not Be Sole Factor
It still comes down to money.

Wednesday’s reveal of the Switch 2 had a lot of buzz from Nintendo surrounding its successor to the Switch. One shocking bit, though, was the high price of its games. There’s a lot of confusion, especially with news of President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many trading partners, including Japan.
After the Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo released the full details of the upcoming console and games on its website. The price of Mario Kart World shocked gamers and led to some disdain, as the $80 MSRP was $10 more than what most new games cost today. This led many to wonder if this would be a new normal for game prices due to Trump’s tariffs or if Nintendo was just being greedy. The answer, however, might be something completely different.
Are Nintendo Switch 2 game prices hiking?
To start, some details need to be cleared up. Some people have posted on social media that the price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 games, at least in the US, will be $90. That is incorrect, as of right now.
One X user posted Switch 2 EU prices for Mario Kart World, which start at 80 euros for a digital version and 90 euros for the physical copy. Typically, US and EU games match in price, which caused some to assume that this pricing would be the case for the US.
Nintendo Switch 2 games will be more expensive physically than digitally.
Mario Kart World will be 90 freaking euros phisically. pic.twitter.com/iXuRwzlFqH— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) April 2, 2025
US retailers, however, already posted their Switch 2 game prices, and Nintendo-published games are listed at $80.
Will Trump’s tariffs cause the Switch 2 to cost more?
As for Trump’s tariffs, that is unlikely to be a driver of this price bump. Tariffs are not applied to digital goods, and when the prices were published, there were no tariffs on Japan. Plus, games are similarly expensive in other countries like Canada and the UK.
With that cleared up, why are Nintendo games on the Switch 2 so expensive? One likely reason is game storage.
Read More: All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free
The Switch 2 uses what Nintendo calls game-key cards, which are Switch 2 cartridges that don’t have all the game data on the cartridge itself. This helps save on production costs as storage is expensive. The original Switch cartridges went up to 32GB of storage, which doesn’t seem like a lot these days, with some games taking up 100GB or more of storage, but this is for the original Switch. Only a few games, like The Witcher 3, went above 32GB because the graphics for the Switch weren’t on the high end like with a PC, PS5 or Xbox Series console, where a Witcher 3 install size starts at 50GB.
Switch 2 games are going to be bigger in size — there is little doubt about it. CD Projekt Red confirmed it would put its Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on one 64GB cartridge, and there will likely be other games to surpass that 64GB. With the max size of the cartridge doubling in size, it adds to the price of the physical card, as not only does storage have to be bigger, but they will need to transfer data faster. That can get more expensive for physical copies, unlike optical discs, which are still the same price whether it has 20GB or 100GB on the disc.
What does all this mean for gamers?
This leads to a dilemma for publishers: Put the entire game on the physical card and sell it at a loss, increase the price of the physical copy with the full game on it or use the game-key card to have a card with minimal storage, requiring gamers to download the entire game.
Read More: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now
It appears that Nintendo went with door No. 2. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, knowing the company. Anyone who wants to save money on games knows that Nintendo will seldom bring the price down of its own games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, is 8 years old and is still full price on Nintendo’s website.
According to an industry analysis from Niko Partners, this new pricing could become the new normal in a couple of years when it comes to physical cartridges.
«While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games,» Niko Partners said in a statement Wednesday. «One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.»
Nintendo didn’t respond to a request for comment about the higher price of its games.
That said, this doesn’t explain the lower price of Donkey Kong Bananza, which comes out in July; that’s listed on Nintendo’s site for $70. This could mean the game isn’t using a larger storage card, but that can’t be said for sure until the game comes out. It’s unclear how things will change in the future.
Technologies
Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders in US Delayed Due to Trump’s Tariffs
The Switch 2 launch is still happening on June 5, and preorders outside the US seem unchanged.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the US were to start April 9, but it appears those plans have changed due to the new tariffs imposed this week by President Donald Trump. It’s unclear if this means Nintendo will also have to increase the price of the Switch successor, which currently starts at $450.
Nintendo said Friday that it’s delaying Switch 2 preorders in the US, but its June release date is unaffected.
«Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,» the company said in a statement. «Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.»
Nintendo didn’t indicate if preorder dates outside the US would change, but Eurogamer reports that preorders are live at various retailers in the UK.
A tariff of 24% has been applied by the US to goods from Japan. Were that rate to be applied directly to the Switch 2’s announced price, it would rise to $558, but it would be up to Nintendo how much of the tariff it will pass on to consumers.
This is a developing story.
Technologies
Twelve South’s Foldable Wireless Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch Is Up to 27% Off at Amazon
This handy accessory makes it easier to travel with your Apple gear and stay charged wherever you go.

Whether you’re traveling for business or off on a wonderful family vacation, charging your stuff shouldn’t be something you have to worry about. Taking extra chargers and cables can be a pain, and they all take up space in your bag. But the handy Twelve South Butterfly SE charger is a compact alternative that can wirelessly charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time. And it’s available with up to 27% off right now at Amazon.
That top line discount applies to the pink version, though the white model is only $7 more and other colors are seeing 15% off the usual $100 price tag if you have a strong preference. It’s not clear how long the discounts will last, though.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
The charger itself offers a way to wirelessly charge a iPhone and Apple Watch from a single AC outlet, and you can even charge your AirPods when your phone is done, too. And because this is a Qi2 charger you’ll get a full 15 watts of wireless charging for compatible devices — including the best iPhones.
When you’re not using the Butterfly SE, it folds up so it can be slid into a pocket, bag or luggage without taking up too much space. It really is the perfect partner for people who like to travel light.
Unfortunately, this charger doesn’t come with an AC adapter in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. Make sure it’s rated for 20 watts or more. If you need to buy one, Apple’s 20-watt USB-C charger is just $15 right now.
Why this deal matters
We all carry multiple devices around with us these days. Anything that can make charging them more convenient is a win in our books, especially when you’re traveling. This charger takes up little space when it isn’t being used and charges quickly when it is.
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