iPhone users who still use their phone as an actual—you know—phone will soon have the ability to filter out background noise to make those calls clearer, with the coming advent of iOS 16.4 and new implementations for Voice Isolation.
Apple quietly implemented a Voice Isolation feature in FaceTime calls last year, which helped filter out background noise, making voices sound clearer. To activate it, users had to select the feature from a menu in the app’s Control Center. While previously restricted to VOIP (voice over IP) calls, it’s now coming to cellular calls as well.
iOS 16.4 is scheduled for a full release sometime in the next week or so, to coincide with the upcoming Apple Music Classical app. The latest 16.4 RC (release candidate) version was released Tuesday to developers and some select users whose devices are listed as beta testers. Accessing Voice Isolation in calls works similar to how you do it on FaceTime. During a call, users can access the Control Center, tap on the Mic Mode, then choose Voice Isolation from the list of three options. The other option, called “Wide Spectrum,” actually makes listeners hear even more of the background.
Otherwise, iOS is bringing a few more minor improvements, bug fixes, and—perhaps most important for texters—21 new emojis with Unicode 15. Though these were shown off in last year’s emoji slate, this latest release onto Apple devices includes multiple new animals like a moose, a goose, a jellyfish and a donkey.
As for additional features, 16.4 will update phones to include notifications for web apps on the Home Screen and an accessibility setting that automatically dims video when it detects flashes or strobes of light. Photos will also now detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library.
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There’s a few bug fixes as well, including crash detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and 14 Pro devices. The company also said it would fix an issue where Matter-compatible thermostats become unresponsive when paired to an Apple Home device.
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