Apple’s iOS 12.4 brings back Walkie-Talkie, makes improvements to Apple News+

By Christian de Looper Published July 22, 2019

iOS 12 — Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

After weeks of beta testing, Apple has finally released iOS 12.4 to the public, bringing with it a number of tweaks. It’s also believed that iOS 12.4 brings software support for the Apple Card, Apple’s new credit card that was announced in March, however, Apple makes no mention of this in the update notes.

iOS 12.4 is available to all compatible iOS devices straight from the Settings app, however, it may take a few hours to be available to all users — so if you don’t see it right away, check again later.

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Despite the fact that iOS 12.4’s release doesn’t officially bring support for the Apple Card just yet, it’s possible that Apple could have added the underlying framework for the Apple Card, after which it can turn the feature on from its end at a later date. Considering the fact that Apple said the Apple Card would be available in the summer, it’s expected that it’ll launch in the very near future.

So what exactly is new in iOS 12.4? Well, a few things. For starters, the new operating system brings a new iPhone migration tool, with which users can wirelessly transfer data directly from an old iPhone to a new iPhone during setup, instead of having to migrate using an iCloud backup.

Apple News has also gotten a few small tweaks. For example, Apple has made downloadable magazine editions available in the My Magazines section of the app. Not only that, but all Apple News+ publications, including newspapers, are available in the Apple News catalog, and Apple has added the ability to clear downloaded magazines and newspapers by heading to History > Clear > Clear All.

Last but not least is a new security fix for the Walkie-Talkie app on the Apple Watch. Apple actually disabled the Walkie-Talkie feature when it discovered a vulnerability that allowed others to listen in on Walkie-Talkie conversations.

The updated versions of iOS 12.4 come just a few months before the expected release of iOS 13, which will likely be released to the public alongside the new iPhone in September. iOS 13 brings new features like a system-wide Dark Mode, better performance, a more natural-sounding Siri, and more.

Christian de Looper

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…

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