iOS 15 beta 4 and iPadOS 15 beta 4 are rolling out now on iPhone and iPad

Precisely two weeks after the last beta release, Apple began seeding iOS 15 beta 4 and iPadOS 15 beta 4 on Tuesday. There were eight beta releases before iOS 14 launched to the public in 2020. If Apple is following the same pattern in 2021, we're halfway through the betas.

First of all, we should point out that all of the devices that were supported by iOS 14 will be supported by iOS 15 as well, so if you were able to update to iOS 14, you’re in the clear for at least one more year, even if you’re still using an iPhone 6s Plus, an iPad Air 2, or an iPad mini 4.

As for the new features, iOS 15 is upgrading FaceTime with spatial audio, a grid view, Portrait Mode, and SharePlay to share music, movies, and more during video calls. The new Focus feature lets you make custom modes to decide which notifications you see depending on what time it is and where you are, Live Text can recognize text and make it selectable, and a few apps are getting significant redesigns, including Maps and Weather. All in all, it’s a pretty substantial update.