SF Symbols Changes in iOS 16.4

Introduction

When examining the iOS 16.4 simulator in Xcode 14.3 beta 1, I noticed that there had been a few small changes to SF Symbols.

  • SF Symbols v1.1 available in iOS 13.1, watchOS 6.1 and macOS 11.0
  • SF Symbols v2.0 available in iOS 14.0, watchOS 7.0 and macOS 11.0
  • SF Symbols v2.1 available in iOS 14.2, watchOS 7.1 and macOS 11.0
  • SF Symbols v2.2 available in iOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4 and macOS 11.3
  • SF Symbols v3.0 available in iOS 15.0, watchOS 8.0 and macOS 12.0
  • SF Symbols v3.1 available in iOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1 and macOS 12.0
  • SF Symbols v3.2 available in iOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3 and macOS 12.1
  • SF Symbols v3.3 available in iOS 15.4, watchOS 8.5 and macOS 12.3
  • SF Symbols v4.0 available in iOS 16.0, watchOS 9.0 and macOS 13.0
  • SF Symbols v4.1 available in iOS 16.1, watchOS 9.1 and macOS 13.0
  • SF Symbols v4.2 available in iOS 16.4, watchOS 9.4 and macOS 13.3

SF Symbol Browsing Apps

At the time of writing, the latest version of Apple’s own SF Symbols app is v4.0 (build 80) and includes SF Symbols 4.1 (iOS 16.1, macOS 13.0). Based on past experience it’s unlikely that the app will be updated until some time after iOS 16.4 has been publicly released.

iOS 16.4b1 System Images ‘All’ category and data set chooser menu in Adaptivity v9.5 on 12.9" iPad Pro

Changes in SF Symbols 4.2

iOS/iPadOS 16.4 beta 1 was released on 16th February 2023. There are very few changes to SF Symbols.

New Symbols

There are 1,222 symbols in the ‘What’s New’ category in SF Symbols v4.2 because it includes all the changes in SF Symbols v4.0 (iOS 16.0) and SF Symbols v4.1 (iOS 16.1). Just four symbols were added in iOS 16.4 beta 1:

beats.powerbeats.right
beats.powerbeats.left
beats.powerbeats3.right
beats.powerbeats3.left
iOS 16.4b1 System Images powerbeats symbols and ‘Added’ smart collection in Adaptivity v9.5 on iPhone 14 Pro

Renamed Symbols

The four “axel” symbols added in iOS 16.1 have been renamed to use the correct spelling of “axle” in this context. Adaptivity’s version annotation shows 16.4+,16.1 to indicate that the new name is valid from iOS 16.4 onwards but the symbol was added in iOS 16.1. A ‘Renamed’ smart collection includes only the symbols which have been renamed in the data set you are viewing. When there are multiple names, the context menu has a submenu for copying each of the names. You must use the name that was valid in your app’s minimum deployment target:

iOS 16.4b1 System Images ‘Renamed’ smart collection and context menu in Adaptivity v9.5 on iPhone 14 Pro

Localized Variants

The 1.lane to 12.lane symbols added in iOS 16.1 gained Arabic and Hindi localisations in iOS 16.4 beta 1. Adaptivity has an optional ‘Language Localized’ annotation (a globe icon) and a ‘Language Localized’ smart collection includes only the symbols which are localized for language in the data set you are viewing. (There is a separate annotation and smart collection for symbols which have right-to-left localizations. Some symbols have both types of localization.) The individual localized images can also be viewed, each of which highlights the version in which they are available:

iOS 16.4b1 System Images ‘lane’ symbols and localizations in Adaptivity v9.5 on iPhone 14 Pro

Additional Render Modes

The list.clipboard symbol added in iOS 16.0 supports the multicolor render mode in iOS 16.4 beta 1. The similarlist.bullet.clipboard symbol already supported this:

iOS 16.4b1 System Images ‘list clipboard’ symbols and multicolor rendering in Adaptivity v9.5 on iPhone 14 Pro

Resources

Apple

WWDC 2022: 10157, What’s new in SF Symbols 4

Adaptivity

Adaptivity has many other features in addition to browsing SF Symbols. It is primarily a tool to visualize the different window sizes, layout margins, readable content guides, bar heights and Dynamic Type sizes that a modern, adaptive, iOS app uses when running on different devices and iPad multitasking sizes.

Visualizing sizes, layout and margins in Adaptivity v9.5 on 12.9" iPad Pro

SF Menu Bar

SF Menu Bar is a menu bar app for the Mac which is powered by the same SF Symbol data as Adaptivity. When run on macOS 13.3 beta, it will show symbols added in iOS 16.4/macOS 13.3. More information is available on my web site.

SF Menu Bar v1.9 running on macOS 13.2.1

Other Articles That You Might Like

I have written a series of articles highlighting how apps built with various Xcode versions adapt to new device screen sizes. The most recent is How iOS Apps Adapt to the various iPhone 14 Screen Sizes. Similarly, there are articles discussing changes to view controller appearances or presentations. The most recent is View Controller Presentation Changes in iOS and iPadOS 16.

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Independent and freelance software developer for iPhone, iPad and Mac

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Geoff Hackworth

Independent and freelance software developer for iPhone, iPad and Mac