Technologies
Download iOS 16.4 on Your iPhone: What to Know Before Updating
Features include 21 new emoji, voice isolation for better phone call quality and more.
This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2023, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
Apple has released iOS 16.4 for the iPhone. The latest iOS software update adds several new features, like 21 new emoji (including shaking face, light blue heart and donkey) and a voice isolation feature for cellular phone calls, which blocks out ambient noises to make your voice clearer.


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 so far.
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
Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance
Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.
Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.
The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.
Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.
Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.
Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.
The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»
Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.
Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.
At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.
Technologies
OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report
OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.
OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.
‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’
Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.
The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.
Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.
This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.
Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.
Technologies
OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift
OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.
Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.
‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.
Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.
‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’
A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.
Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’
On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.
OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.
In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.
Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.
The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.
‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’
WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know
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