It can be easy to forget about iPhone updates, especially as Apple's phones will generally work to keep themselves updated. But the staggered rollout of the latest tweaks and patches means that you may have to take matters into your own hands when it comes to updating your iPhone. And you really should do that for the latest iOS 15 update.
If you're not on iOS 15.4 yet because you disabled automatic updates or you simply ignore your iPhone’s notifications to apply the update, you may have missed out on its best feature: Face ID now works when you're wearing a mask. it's surprisingly well implemented and may even bypass the need for the iPhone 14 to have Touch ID —something that this fall's phones may not offer.
Equally, by not adopting the update you may have also bypassed the rapid battery drain issue a clutch of iPhone users have run into.
Apple initially responded to these complaints noting that “it’s normal for your apps and features to need to adjust up to 48 hours after an update.” However, a quick search of social media and you’ll find plenty of iPhone owners still complaining that their device’s battery has never recovered and continues to drain frustratingly fast.
The new iOS 15.4.1 update fixes that, though it should be noted that our managing editors Philip Michaels and Roland Moore-Colyer ran into no such problems after they updated their iPhones to iOS 15.4.
On top of this notable fix, iOS 15.4.1 also brings in a raft of other minor tweaks, such as preventing Braille devices from becoming unresponsive on iPhones and stopping Made for iPhone hearing aid devices from disconnecting from some third-party apps.
You'll also want iOS 15.4.1 as it closes the door on two zero-day flaws that may have already been exploited by hackers.
How to update to iOS 15.4.1
So if you need to give your iPhone a nudge to apply this update, and you really should, then luckily it’s dead easy to do.
Simply head over to the Settings app and navigate to the General tab. Then in the top section you should see a submenu labelled Software Update.
Tap this and your iPhone will perform a search for any new updates available to download. If iOS 15.4.1 doesn’t appear, then your device has likely automatically installed the update.
