iOS 164 has been released, bringing bug fixes, security upgrades, and a variety of new features While perhaps not as exciting as the upgrade to iOS 17 scheduled for later this year, iOS 164 still has a lot to offer that you will want to try soon

We're not talking about simple upgrades like the addition of 31 new emoji There are many useful and exciting features that you will want to try out right away From voice separation on mobile calls to integrating duplicate photos in your iCloud shared library Here are five OS 164 features you can try right now

Voice isolation first came to the iPhone in 2021 with iOS 15, but only with FaceTime iOS 164 adds this feature to the iPhone's stock phone app, making voice isolation available for calls to and from traditional cell phones The purpose of this feature is to allow for background noise during a call Its purpose is to reduce background noise during a call and let the other party hear your voice more clearly

This feature is not enabled by default and requires access to the settings to turn it on The first thing to do is call someone and pull down the Control Center menu from the top right of the iPhone screen Tap Microphone Mode > Voice Isolation, which should enable voice isolation on every phone call you make this time and in the future

The updated Home app architecture is back in iOS 164, despite being released in December and removed for having too many bugs The purpose of this update is to improve communication between smart home devices and Apple products This should result in faster and more reliable connections than before

The best part is that iOS 164 will automatically upgrade your smart home system to the new architecture when you update your home app

While paying more than necessary is not preferred, there are times when paying in installments is beneficial; Apple Pay Later allows eligible purchases to be paid for in four installments, with all payments made through Apple Pay Simply make a purchase and select the "Pay Later" option when it appears

You pay the initial amount at the time of purchase and then again every two weeks This works both in-store and online, but Apple Pay Later has not yet been rolled out to everyone; according to Bloomberg (opens in new tab), "randomly selected" users can currently try the service

While 5G services typically blend 5G and 4G spectrum for connectivity, 5G standalone (5G SA) does not As its name suggests, it is a version of 5G connectivity that uses the 5G core network and does not rely on 4G LTE data transfer

Currently, T-Mobile is the only carrier that supports 5G SA, promising speeds of up to 3 Gbps This service should be enabled by default on T-Mobile iPhones, but in case it is not, scroll to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice and Data and make sure the "5G Standalone" toggle is on Make sure the "5G Standalone" toggle is on

Duplicates first appeared in iOS 16 last year, flagging duplicate images in the iPhone's Photo Library iOS 164 goes one step further, locating duplicate images in the iCloud Shared Photo Library This makes it easier to identify and delete unwanted images, freeing up iCloud space for more important things

Duplicates identify images that look the same but have different metadata It is worth checking for differences in file type and resolution before deleting In any case, it's easy, just go to the "Photos" app > "Albums" > "Utilities" > "Duplicates" Then find the duplicate you want to delete and tap "Merge"