Here’s What’s New In iOS 12.2

Apple News+, new Animoji, and more!

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Yesterday Apple unveiled an insane amount of new services at its annual Spring event. Those services include the new Apple News+ new subscription service, the Apple Arcade gaming subscription severive, and Apple TV+, an Apple video subscription service.

But the company also released iOS 12.2 to the public. iOS 12.2 is significant because it’s a fairly major update to iOS 12—and most likely the last major update to the mobile operating system before Apple previews iOS 13 in June at WWDC. So just what new features does iOS 12.2 bring? Read on…

iOS 12.2: Apple News+

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Without a doubt, the biggest feature of iOS 12.2 is support for Apple News+. That’s Apple’s new news subscription service. Apple News+ offers users the ability to subscribe to more than 300 newspapers, magazines, and premium website content from within the Apple News app and all for only $9.99 a month.

Digital publishers who are offering their content through the Apple News+ service include Vogue, National Geographic Magazine, People, ELLE, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and more. Considering that a normal WSJ subscription is almost $15 a month, you can see what a deal an Apple News+ subscription is considering you get access to the WSJ plus 300 other publications.

And don’t worry, the Apple News app isn’t changing. It’s just where you’ll access Apple News+ subscriptions in. The free portion of the app that you know and love is still there.

iOS 12.2: Apple News for Canada

Another big feature of iOS 12.2 is that Apple’s News app is expanding to Canadian users. Previously, the News app was only available to US, UK, and Australian users. With iOS 12.2, users in Canada can access the app now. Best of all, Apple news will be available in both English and French in Canada.

iOS 12.2: Air Quality in Maps

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Maps also gets a slight update in iOS 12.2. Now users can choose to display the current air quality index of an area in addition to the weather there. To toggle on the air quality index in maps, just enable the setting in the Settings app.

iOS 12.2: Home Controls for Smart TVs

Earlier this year Apple announced that its iTunes Movies and TV apps would be coming to third-party smart TVs. Now with iOS 12.2, Apple has added HomeKit support so users can control their third-party smart TVs through the Home app on their iPhone or iPad.

iOS 12.2: Redesigned Apple TV Remote In Control Center

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Another TV improvement is that the Apple TV remote app found in Control Center gets a redesign in iOS 12.2. The Control Center TV app now has a more streamlined look and it now takes advantage of the entire device display instead of just showing up in about 75% of it.

iOS 12.2: New Screen Mirroring Icon

While not a major feature, Apple is updating its Screen Mirroring icon in iOS 12.2. Previously the icon showed a rectangular box representing a TV or display with a triangle below it. Now the new icon shows two rectangular boxes representing two TVs or displays. We think the new icon is a better representation of what the feature does.

iOS 12.2: Apple Pay Cash “Add Money” Option

Now on the Apple Pay Cash card in your Wallet app, you’ll see a new “Add Money” option right on the screen below the card. This makes it much easier and faster to add funds to your Apple Pay Cash card.

iOS 12.2: Safari Search Arrows

This is a really cool addition. Previously when using Safari and performing a search in its address bar, the user would see recommended search suggestions below the address bar based on what they were typing. Tapping any one of those suggestions would immediately launch a search for the tapped suggestion.

That still works the same in iOS 12.2. However, now you’ll also see a little blue arrow next to search suggestions. If you tap the arrow instead of the search suggestion directly, the text from the search suggestion will auto-populate in Safari’s address/search bar. The user can then continue to add text to that auto-populated search term.

iOS 12.2: Safari Unsecure Websites Warning

Finally, in Safari any site that does not send data over HTTPS is now marked as “Not Secure” in Safari. This warning alerts a user that any information they send to the site or interactions they perform on it are not encrypted. It’s a cool feature which will allow people to see what sites leave them vulnerable online.

The full release notes for iOS 12.2 can be seen below:

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Apple News+

• Apple News+ is a new subscription service that extends the Apple News experience with hundreds of magazines and top newspapers
• Our editors handpick top articles and magazine issues, and you also get personalized recommendations on the topics most interesting to you
• Automatic downloads make it easy to read magazine issues offline
• Apple News is now available in Canada, with a free experience that includes handpicked Top Stories, a personalized Today feed, and support for both English and French
• Apple News+ is available in the U.S. and in Canada, with dozens of additional Canadian magazines

Siri

• Ask Siri on your iPhone or iPad to play any video, show, movie, sports game, or channel on Apple TV. For example, “Hey Siri, play Free Solo on my TV”

Animoji

• Four new Animoji—owl, boar, giraffe and shark—are included for iPhone X and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) and iPad Pro 11-inch