Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates to public beta testers, providing the software to the general public. Today's beta comes two weeks after Apple released the first public betas.
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's free beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS 16.2 betas over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.
iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 introduce the Freeform app, which can be used for jotting down notes, sketching, drawing, brainstorming ideas, creating mood boards, and more. Multiple people can work on the same Freeform board, with changes synced for all participants in real time.
For the iPad, the update brings external display support to the Stage Manager multitasking feature, allowing up to eight apps to be used at once. External display support is available for the M1 and M2 iPad models.
There is a new Home app architecture coming in iOS and iPadOS 16.2, which Apple says is designed to bring faster, more reliable performance, especially in homes with a lot of smart home accessories. The new architecture requires the HomePod 16.2 beta software, and it causes the Home app not to work with devices updated to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, or macOS Ventura 13.1.
Unintentional Emergency SOS calls can be reported to Apple in iOS 16.2, and there are a few other minor changes that can be found in our iOS 16.2 feature guide.
Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Tuesday January 14, 2025 11:30 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 2A143, up from the 2A138 firmware that the accessory shipped with. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the internal firmware number.
The 2024 MagSafe charger was...
Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025:
More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
There is a good chance that Apple's first product announcement of 2025 will be updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip.
Last month, Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models are coming this year (unsurprisingly).
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new MacBook Air models will be announced "earlier" than some...
Monday January 13, 2025 5:33 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 is currently in beta for developers and public beta testers. So far, the upcoming iPhone software update is very minor in scope.
Below, we outline what is new in iOS 18.3 so far.
The only potential new feature coming to iPhones with iOS 18.3 so far is robot vacuum support in the Home app, but this functionality is not yet live. Apple is laying the groundwork for the feature,...
Thursday January 16, 2025 8:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony about becoming its new financial partner for the Apple Card, according to Reuters sources.
The report today added that Apple has also been holding discussions with Chase Bank owner JPMorgan since last year, so there are at least three potential companies in the running to take over the Apple Card from current partner Goldman Sachs.
Goldman...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 6:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and now further evidence of the wireless earbuds has surfaced.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
Apple submitted Powerbeats Pro 2 regulatory documents to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-December. The documents were made available to the public this week, and they were spotted by 91M...
Public beta testers, if you're not currently on beta 1, or maybe even if you are, please check out the macrumors forum thread on 16.2 beta 2 before installing. There seems to be a greater than usual number of reports of problems, especially with frame drops or stuttering on iPhones with promotion. A fair number of developers who installed beta 2 are going back to beta 1 or 16.1 public release.
(That said, there are plenty of developers who are having little to no problems with beta 2; it just seems like the number with problems is higher than normal for a second beta on a .2 release.)
I cannot wait to use FreeForm! I tried some of the other brainstorming apps out there a couple months back, and each of them had different issues… I think Apple is going to get it right!
* Can’t delete boards while offline, or if iCloud data is disabled for Freeform. (100294085) Workaround: Go to Settings (System Setting on macOS) > Apple ID > iCloud, then in the Apps using iCloud section, toggle Freeform to On. * Adding or removing collaborators can fail while attempting to change share settings. (101186059) Workaround: Close the share sheet and try to add or remove the participants again.
[HEADING=2]Keyboard[/HEADING] [HEADING=3]Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]
* Fixed: When typing in Chinese Pinyin, selecting an option from the candidate bar is unresponsive. (73513207)
* While using Stage Manager with an External Display, dragging a second window to the workspace incorrectly hides the Recent Apps list—shifting all windows in the workspace to the right. (98540114)
[HEADING=2]TV App[/HEADING] [HEADING=3]Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]
* Fixed: Play tracking (Up Next, and Top Shelf Update) won’t work for all platforms. (101258095)
[HEADING=2]SwiftUI[/HEADING] [HEADING=3]New Features in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]
* Disable animations of NavigationStack push and pop by wrapping path mutation in withTransaction(transaction) { … } where transaction has disablesAnimations set to true. (88993253)
[HEADING=3]Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]
* Fixed: Programmatically popping multiple views from a NavigationStack, by manipulating its path binding, now animates. Use with Transaction to override this behavior. (96852321)
[/SPOILER]
Released yesterday to devs, today to PB testers, mobile Safari is now 16.2 iOS 16.2 beta 2 (20C5043e) - November 8, 2022 iPadOS 16.2 beta 2 (20C5043e) - November 8, 2022 macOS 13.1 beta 2 (22C5044e) - November 8, 2022 watchOS 9.2 beta 2 (20S5342d) - November 8, 2022 tvOS 16.2 beta 2 (20K5342d) - November 8, 2022
