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What’s New In iOS 16.2? What you NEED to know…
Apple’s iOS 16.2 update is bringing a ton of new features to the iPhone. Freeform, Apple Music Sing, and more!
Apple’s latest iPhone update is a major one. Apple only just released iOS 16 back in September, but already the company is releasing its second major update to the iPhone operating system – and it’s a major update packed with new features and tweaks.
Here’s what you need to know about iOS 16.2…
iOS 16.2: Freeform App
Apple first previewed Freeform in June at WWDC. The app is essentially a digital whiteboard collaboration app that works across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple describes Freeform as “a flexible canvas lets you add files, images, stickies, and more.”
iOS 16.2: Apple Music Sing
We’ve discussed Apple Music Sing before. It’s Apple’s version of a karaoke app. It lets you turn the lyrics track down on select Apple Music Sogn so you can sign your own vocals over it. Apple Music Sing will work on any iPhone 11 or later – as long as you have select Apple Music subscriptions.
iOS 16.2: Advanced Data Protection
The privacy-minded will love this new feature. Advanced Data Protection allows the user to end-to-end encrypt nearly everything in their iCloud account except for emails, contacts, and calendars. But you can end-to-end encrypt nearly everything else – iCloud Drive files, Safari bookmarks, your entire Photos library.
One a scale of zero to 10, Advanced Data Protection sees Apple take privacy to a 15.
iOS 16.2: Lock Screen Enhancements
The lock screen was a big feature of both the iPhone 14 Pro and iOS 16 in general. The iPhone 14 Pro series brought an always-on display/lock screen to the iPhone for the first time. And iOS 16 completely revamped the iPhone lock screen experience.
With iOS 16.2 Apple is now allowing iPhone users to hide notifications and wallpaper on the always-on lock screen. You also get new medication and sleep widgets.
- Check out: iOS 16.3: All The New Features
iOS 16.2: Game Center SharePlay
iOS 16.2 bring a cool enhancement to Game Center. Now multiplayer games can support SharePlay, which gives you the ability to play the game with a friend over FaceTime. It’s an exceptionally cool feature that mobile gamers will love.
More iOS 16.2 Features
According to Apple’s latest iOS 16.2 release notes, iOS 16.2 also includes:
Improved search in Messages allows you to find photos based on their content, like a dog, car, person, or text
Apple
- Turn Off Hide IP Address setting enables iCloud Private Relay users to temporarily disable the service for a specific site in Safari
- News articles in Weather display information relevant to the weather in that location
- Participant Cursors in Notes allow you to see live indicators as others make updates in a shared note
- AirDrop now automatically reverts to Contacts Only after 10 minutes to prevent unwanted requests to receive content
- Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models
- Fixes an issue that causes some notes not to sync with iCloud after updates are made
What iPhones Can Run iOS 16.2?
iOS 16.2 will run on any iPhone that can run iOS 16. This includes
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
How Can I Update To iOS 16.2?
Updating to iOS 16.2 is easy:
- Open the Setting app on your iPhone.
- Tap General.
- Tap Software Update.
Follow the instructions on the screen above.
- Update: The iOS 16.4 beta is now out!
And check out what’s in store for iOS 17! Can’t wait? Here is when iOS 17 should be released as well as expected features of iOS 17.