Skip to content 
iOS 12 Update List – iOS 12.1 to iOS 12.4 (All Fixes & Tweaks)
[ss_click_to_tweet tweet=”Prior to the release of iOS 13, Apple released a slew of updates to its iOS 12 update – and every single one of them is covered in detail below…” content=”Prior to the release of iOS 13, Apple released a slew of updates to its iOS 12 update – and every single one of them is covered in detail below…” style=”default”]
iOS 12 Update List – iOS 12 to iOS 12.4
MORE: iOS 13 Best New Features Detailed…
iOS 12.1 Update – Bugs, Update, & Fixes
- Improves cellular connectivity for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
- Adds the ability to change or reset your child’s Screen Time passcode using Face ID or Touch ID
- Fixes an issue where the sharpest reference frame was not always selected in front-facing photos for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
- Resolves an issue that caused messages to be merged into one thread when two users were signed in with the same Apple ID on multiple iPhones
- Addresses an issue that prevented some voicemails from appearing in the Phone app
- Resolves an issue in the Phone app that could cause phone numbers to appear without their corresponding contact name
- Fixes an issue that could prevent Screen Time from reporting specific websites in the activity report
- Addresses an issue that could prevent adding or removing family members from Family Sharing
- Adds a performance management feature to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down, including the option to disable this feature if an unexpected shutdown occurs, for iPhone X, iPhone 8
- and iPhone 8 Plus
- Adds the ability for Battery Health to inform users that it is unable to verify if a genuine Apple battery is in iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
- Improves reliability of VoiceOver in Camera, Siri, and Safari
- Fixes an issue that could cause MDM Device Enrollment to report an Invalid Profile error for some enterprise users
iOS 12.1.1
iOS 12.1.1 introduces some redesigns and subtle tweaks for apps that make the operating system that runs on Apple’s iPhones and iPads better. The new features include pretty significant updates to Apple’s FaceTime app, wider support for eSims, and, you guessed it, new emoji.
- Better Haptic Touch Support For iPhone XR – One of the bummers about the new iPhone XR is that it lacks a 3D Touch display. Apple made this choice because the Liquid Retina display of the XR didn’t leave room for another panel tech. So instead of offering 3D Touch on the XR, Apple gave it Haptic Touch–that is, a long press and hold on certain UI elements will cause the Haptic Engine inside the XR to bump the phone, mimicking (mostly) the feel of 3D Touch. But Haptic Touch elements ver VERY limited in iOS 12. With the update today, Haptic Touch has been expanded to work on Notification previews on the iPhone XR.
- Better eSim Support – The iPhone XS and XR support eSims, or electronic sims. That in addition to a physical sim as well. This means those iPhones can support two sims–one physical, one electronic. The update adds support for eSims from many more carriers.
- Live Photo Capture During FaceTime Calls – Today’s update also allows users to capture a Live Photo during a FaceTime call. This only works for one-to-one calls and not group calls. But now this means that you can capture a moving picture of the person you are talking to and save it to your photo library. And yep, they’ll be alerted you took a Live Photo.
- A Better FaceTime UI – The FaceTime app also got a reworked bottom navigation bar that now offers quick access buttons for muting a call and flipping the camera. This is a much better interface than the old “three-dot” FaceTime interface. And sliding up on the new bottom bar also brings up additional options with the participant you are having a conversation with.
iOS 12.1.1: Bug fixes include:
- Fixes an issue where Face ID may temporarily become unavailable
- Addresses an issue that prevented visual voicemail from downloading for some customers
- Fixes an issue in Messages that could prevent predictive text suggestions when typing on the Chinese or Japanese keyboards
- Addresses an issue that could prevent Voice Memos recordings from uploading to iCloud
- Fixes an issue where time zones may not have updated automatically
iOS 12.2 Update
- iOS 12.2: Apple News for Canada – Without a doubt, the biggest feature of iOS 12.2 is that Apple’s News app is expanding to Canadian users. Currently, the News app is only available to US, UK, and Australian users. With iOS 12.2, users in Canada will be able to access the app. Best of all, Apple news will be available in both English and French in Canada.
- iOS 12.2: Air Quality in Maps – 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 is adding 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 – 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 is not encrypted. It’s a cool feature that will allow people to see what sites leave them vulnerable online.
Here’s What’s New In iOS 12.3
Apple’s New TV App
Without a doubt, the biggest feature of iOS 12.3 is the new TV app. Apple has completely revamped the TV app to make the user interface simpler and more appealing.
The new app now features three prominent buttons at the bottom of the screen: Watch Now, Library, and Search. Watch Now is the most important one as this is where users discover all kinds of content across multiple services on their device.
Watch Now itself is broken down into multiple categories including Up Next, which shows you what to watch next based on your video queues across various apps. There’s also a new Channels subcategory that allows you to subscribe to various streaming services right within the TV app and watch their content instantly.
Channels include Acorn TV, CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, Tastemade, Cinemax, Sundance, EPIX, Smithsonian, The History Channel Vault, and Comedy Central Now.
Over on the Library tab, you’ll see all the TV shows and movies you’ve bought through the iTunes Store as well as a list of ones you’ve downloaded for offline viewing. And best of all about the new TV app is it uses a new machine learning-based recommendation engine that serves up customized content suggestions based on your viewing history.
AirPlay 2
Another big feature of iOS 12.3 is that Apple has rolled out support for AirPlay 2. AirPlay 2 allows you to stream content from a Mac, iPad, or iPhone to a number of third-party smart television sets that support the technology.
Starting today, iOS 12.3 will work with Samsung smart TVs, with support for TVs from LG, Vizio, and more coming later this year. What’s really cool about AirPlay 2 is that now people won’t need to buy an Apple TV if they want to stream from their iOS devices to their television at home.
Apple Music Gets Smarter
Finally, in iOS 12.3 Apple Music’s “For You” tab now updates multiple times throughout the day suggesting music based on themes like genres, artists, and moods. It’s not the biggest feature in the world, but a nice one if you’re a big Apple Music user.
The full release notes for iOS 12.3 can be seen below:
iOS 12.3 includes support for AirPlay 2-enabled TVs and features a redesigned Apple TV app. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.
AirPlay 2
- AirPlay 2 now supports sharing videos, photos, music and more from your iPhone and iPad directly to your AirPlay 2-enabled smart TV
- One tap playback automatically plays your chosen TV show or movie on the last screen you used based on time and location
- Siri Suggestions to watch movies and TV shows now include an option to AirPlay
- Intelligent suggestions are all done on-device so your personal information stays private
Apple TV app
- The Apple TV app features an all-new design that highlights expertly curated collections and personalized recommendations
- Apple TV channels offer subscriptions to HBO, Showtime, Starz, and more, available to watch directly in the Apple TV app, online or off
- Subscriptions to Apple TV channels can be shared with up to six family members, with no new apps, accounts, or passwords needed
- New release movies are available to buy or rent in the Apple TV app, including the full catalog of 100,000+ movies and the largest selection of 4K HDR titles
- A new dedicated kids section helps you discover editorially-handpicked shows and movies safe for kids of all ages
- The Apple TV app can now intelligently suggest playing to the most likely Apple TVs or AirPlay 2-enabled TVs nearby
iOS 12.4 Update – The Last iOS 12 Update Before iOS 13
iOS 12.4: Wireless iPhone Migration
Without a doubt, the biggest feature of iOS 12.4 is the new wireless iPhone migration tool. And it’s a very, very cool feature at that. Normally when you buy a new iPhone you back up your old iPhone’s data to iCloud or your computer. Then when you turn on the new iPhone for the first time, you either download that old iPhone’s backup from iCloud or transfer it from your computer.
The downloading option can be cumbersome because and iPhone backup file could be tens of gigabytes in size–meaning you could be waiting for hours depending on how fast or slow your internet connection is. And in order to use the computer backup, you need to have your computer with you.
The new wireless iPhone migration tool in iOS 12.4 gives users the ability to create an ad hoc wireless connection between their old iPhone and their new iPhone and transfer all their data that way. This way of transferring data will be MUCH faster than downloading an iCloud backup.
iOS 12.4: Apple News+ Improvements
Another big feature of iOS 12.4 is Apple has radically improved the Apple News app. You’ll notice the improvements if you’re an Apple News+ subscriber. Under iOS 12.4 Apple News+ subscribers will now see all downloaded magazines accessible in the My Magazines section, both offline and online.
Another nice improvement is that all Apple News+ publications will now appear in the catalog at the Apple News+ feed, which makes finding content much easier. Finally, users can now clear downloaded magazine issues by selecting History > Clear > Clear All, freeing up space on their devices.
iOS 12.4: Walkie-Talkie Returns To The Apple Watch
Finally, in iOS 12.4 and the watchOS 5.3 updates Apple also released yesterday, Apple has brought the Walkie-Talkie functionality back to the Apple Watch. The Walkie-Talkie feature was removed earlier this month after a vulnerability was found that could allow someone to listen in on the Apple Watch user without their knowledge.
iOS 12.4: Apple Card Still Has NOT Arrived
One notable omission for the iOS 12.4 update is that support for Apple’s upcoming Apple Card has NOT been added to the device. This is notable because Apple Card should be launching right around now and betas of iOS 12.4 did offer support for the new credit card.
The full release notes for iOS 12.4 can be seen below:
iOS 12.4 introduces iPhone migration to directly transfer data from an old iPhone to a new iPhone, includes enhancements to Apple News+ and improves the security of your iPhone or iPad. This update:
iPhone migration
– Introduces the ability to wirelessly transfer data and migrate directly from an old iPhone to a new iPhone during setupApple News
– Makes downloaded issues accessible in the My Magazines section, both offline and online
– Adds all publications in Apple News+, including newspapers, to the catalog at the top of the News+ feed
– Adds the ability to clear downloaded magazine issues by selecting History > Clear > Clear AllOther improvements and fixes
– Includes a security fix for the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch and re-enables Walkie-Talkie functionalityThis release also includes support for HomePod in Japan and Taiwan.
Apple’s iOS 13 is now the latest build of Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system and is now widely available on all iPhones and iPads.