Technologies
Skip the iOS 16.4 FOMO: Download It Now for New Emoji and Voice Isolation
If you want to improve your phone call quality, download iOS 16.4 right away.
This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2023, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
Apple released iOS 16.4 for the iPhone last week. The latest iOS software update adds new emoji, including a shaking face, light blue heart and donkey, and a voice isolation feature, which blocks out ambient noises to make your voice clearer during cellular phone calls.


iOS 16.4 also adds Safari-based push notifications, duplicates album support for the iCloud Shared Photo Library, crash-detection optimizations for the iPhone 14 series, VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app, bug fixes, security updates and more.
Read on for a step-by-step guide to the process of putting iOS 16.4 on your compatible iPhone. You can also check out some of the best existing features on iOS 16 and a few hidden features we were surprised to find. And if you recently got a new iPhone, here are the best iPhone 14 cases.
Before you start, is your iPhone even compatible?
Not every iPhone will receive the iOS 16.4 update. You need at least an iPhone 8, which was released back in 2017, to run iOS 16. That also includes the iPhone X, iPhone 11, iPhone SE (second generation and up) and the new iPhone 14.


The iPhone 14 comes preinstalled with iOS 16.
James Martin/CNETNext, back up your iPhone
Getting your hands on new software can be exciting, but there are precautions you should take before updating. You may not be happy with some of the features that iOS 16.4 has to offer (although you can fix some of the most annoying ones), so you need to be able to downgrade back to an earlier version of iOS 16 for whatever reason — and that requires you to back up your iPhone before you update.
By default, your iPhone should back itself up every time it’s connected to power and Wi-Fi during your regular sleep hours. However, if this backup feature is disabled, you can go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup and then hit Back Up Now to back up your device.


You can (and should) also back up your iPhone on your Mac.
Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNETAdditionally, you can back up your iPhone via Finder on your Mac. Simply connect your device to your computer, open Finder, choose your device and then create a backup. Apple also recommends archiving your backup, so that it’s not overwritten by other backups.
Also, make sure to do these three things
You want the download and installation process to go as smoothly as possible, and the best way to do that is to do the following:
- Make sure your iPhone is connected to power. You won’t be able to download iOS 16.4 if you’re under 50% battery, so it’s best to just plug in your phone while you update. And even when you’re plugged in, the battery needs to be over 20%.
- Connect to Wi-Fi. You also won’t be able to download iOS 16.4 with cellular data, so connect to a stable Wi-Fi network.
- Clear up enough storage space. If you’re running out of storage, you’ll need to clear some up before you can download and install iOS 16.4. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage to delete large files and apps.
Here’s our guide on how to get more iPhone storage.
How to download and install iOS 16.4
Now once you have all that set, open your iPhone and go to Settings > General > Software Update, wait a few seconds (or minutes) for the update to appear and then hit Download and Install for iOS 16.4.


You can also use Finder on your Mac to download iOS 16.4 on your iPhone.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETYou should then see a loading bar, along with a rough estimate of how long the download process will take. Once the download is complete, reboot your device and wait for iOS 16.4 to install. When your iPhone boots up, follow any prompts and you should then see iOS 16.4 downloaded on your device.
For more on the new OS, here’s a look at our iOS 16 cheat sheet and some of the most annoying features and settings on iOS 16 (and how you can fix them).
Technologies
Australians Flock to VPNs in the Wake of Online Age-Restriction Laws
App downloads for VPN services increase sharply as websites in Australia go behind age-restriction walls.
A new set of laws in Australia requiring adult websites and app stores to age-restrict content for those under 18, and requiring AI companies to restrict chatbot offerings from displaying certain types of sensitive or adult content to minors, is apparently driving many to download Virtual Private Network apps there.
Major adult sites have closed their virtual doors to those who aren’t age-confirmed in Australia, and these changes follow a nationwide ban on social media use by teenagers and young children that went into effect in December.
According to reports from Reuters, The Guardian and others, in response to the bans, downloads of VPN-related apps, which people can use to circumvent location-based restrictions, are sharply on the rise. According to Reuters, three of the 15 most downloaded free iPhone apps in the country were VPN-related as the new laws went into effect on Monday.
Lawmakers in some regions, including the US, are well aware that people use VPNs in this way. In states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, laws are being proposed to limit or outright ban VPN use. Wisconsin’s proposed law would require adult sites to block VPN traffic, while Michigan’s proposal would ban VPN use entirely in the state.
There is also a proposal in England under consideration to ban VPN use by minors. That proposal is currently under review.
Technologies
Here’s How to Track the Artemis II Mission in Real Time With NASA’s New Tool
The tool will let you track NASA’s modern lunar program during its 10-day flight around the moon and back again.
More than half a century after astronauts last left footprints on the lunar surface, humanity is preparing to return to the moon. The excitement surrounding NASA’s Apollo program once captivated the world, and now NASA hopes to rekindle that same sense of wonder with its modern lunar effort, the Artemis program.
NASA’s Artemis II launch is scheduled for the first week of April. It’ll be the first human mission to the moon since 1972, and it should be quite the achievement for the Artemis program. Now, NASA has released a new tool that lets the public track Artemis II in real time.
The Artemis program is NASA’s long-term effort to return humans to the moon and establish a sustained presence there for the first time since the Apollo program. The program aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, develop new technologies for long-term exploration and use the moon as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.
The Artemis Real-time Orbit Website, dubbed AROW, is already available to the public, although there isn’t much to see since the launch is still a few weeks away. It’s also available directly from the NASA app if you’re using a mobile device. The site lets the public visualize data collected by sensors on Orion and sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The website is simple to navigate. You’ll see a visual representation of Artemis II’s progress, including its speed, distance from Earth and distance to the moon. Mobile app users get all of the above, along with an extra augmented reality tracker that lets you point your phone at the sky and see where Artemis II is relative to your position on Earth. It works much like Google Star Map and other stargazing apps that use similar technology.
According to NASA, tracking will be available once the Orion capsule separates from the rocket’s upper stage, which is expected about 3 hours after the upcoming April launch. The site will then update its information in real time for the entire 10-day mission.
NASA is also making flight data available for download so that people interested in creating their own content, such as visualizations or tracking apps, can do so. The data will include all sorts of things, including state vectors, which are data that «describe precisely where Orion is located and how it moves.» That same data will be used by NASA to study Orion and make improvements for future Artemis missions.
An exact launch date for Artemis II hasn’t been set, but the agency plans on launching the mission no earlier than April 1. The launch was originally scheduled for February, but it was delayed multiple times due to a hydrogen leak and a helium flow issue. NASA says it has since fixed both issues.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 10, #1003
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 10, No. 1,003
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a fun and diverse mix. If you know your US states, you’ll surely solve the blue category early. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Think Julia Child.
Green group hint: Also, Bro and Sis.
Blue group hint: Minn. and Ore. are two others.
Purple group hint: Hit with your fist.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Cook with dry heat.
Green group: Familial nicknames.
Blue group: US state abbreviations.
Purple group: Punch
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is cook with dry heat. The four answers are brown, roast, sear and toast.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is familial nicknames. The four answers are Cuz, Gram, Pop and Unc.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is US state abbreviations. The four answers are Mass, Miss, Penn and Wash.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is punch. The four answers are box, duke, slug and sock.
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