iOS 16.2 Expected to Launch in Mid-December With Several New Features

[MacRumors]

iOS 16.2, the next major update to the iOS 16 operating system, can be expected to launch in mid-December alongside iPadOS 16.2, reliable Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman said today in his Power on newsletter outlining expectations for the remainder of 2022.

The first beta of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 was released for developers and public beta testers last week, so it's still early to outline all of its new features and changes. Still, we already have several new features, changes, and improvements to look forward to that we've recapped below.

Live Activites For TV Sports Games

iOS 16.2 will re-add Live Activities integration for select sports games for the built-in TV app on the iPhone. Users will be able to track games in real time using Live Activities on their Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island for iPhone 14 Pro models.

Lock Screen Sleep Widget

iOS 16.2 will add a new Sleep widget option for users to add their Lock Screen. There are three widget options: one showing the amount of time you spent in bed, another showing a bar chart representing sleep quality, and the larger widget that shows time in bed along with a visual representation.

Freeform App

Announced at WWDC, Freeform is a new app from Apple that allows users to collaborate with friends and co-workers on a single board with drawings, text, videos, images, and more. Freeform is now available to developers and public beta testers and can be expected to launch alongside iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS Ventura 13.1 in mid-December. Check out our hands-on video for a closer look at Freeform.

External Display Support on iPadOS 16

iPadOS 16.2 will reintroduce external display support for select iPad models. Before iPadOS 16's release, Apple said it would delay external display support for iPad and Stage Manager and reintroduce it later this year. External display support with iPadOS 16.2 will allow users to connect their iPad to an external display and use Stage Manager to multitask with multiple windows and apps running simultaneously.

Conclusion

Since iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 are expected to launch in December, there is still plenty of time for Apple to add new features and changes for the update. After iOS 16.2 in mid-December, Apple is expected to launch iOS 16.3, iPadOS 16.3, and macOS Ventura 13.3 around February and March to coincide with new Mac releases, Gurman said today.

Article Link: iOS 16.2 Expected to Launch in Mid-December With Several New Features

 

[I7guy]

In my opinion, ios 16 is shaping up as one of the most interesting releases since IOS 7.

 

[4743913]

Yes. a major update right before all of their devs go home for the holidays.

what could go wrong?

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

Mid December??!?! Oh god! I’ve been waiting for freeform app to use in college. The year will be half over. Guess I’ll have to go buy endless paper… So irritating everything is delayed these days.

 

[SAIRUS]

Apple and bugs are kinda just par for the course now (and been for a while).

I guess why are we paying a premium though if they’re just like Google and Samsung now?

 

[msackey]

I'm curious how Macrumors is able to estimate that mid-December would be the next release.

Any predictions for iPadOS 16.2? I could surely use an update from 16.1 Oh...what about WatchOS 9.2? I could surely use an upgrade for that too. And I guess also for macOS Ventura. For all of these OS's, they each have nagging (to me) bugs.

 

[GuruZac]

In my opinion, ios 16 is shaping up as one of the most interesting releases since IOS 7.

I agree. Really like a lot of the small changes in iOS 16 like editing and deleting messages, copying subjects in photos and pasting in a message, email, etc, and the new redesigned Lock Screen. Then in iPadOS we finally get proper external monitor support, Stage Manager (which needs a bit of work, but has serious potential after using Stage Manager on my M1 MBA).

 

[furou]

Great! But can 16.3 please be a bug and core features fixing update?
16 has been the buggiest since 11 for me. Plus I want notifications and auto correct to be good again.
And re-add night mode wallpapers…

 

[Mlrollin91]

Mid-December would match 15.2 release date, but what about Satellite SOS? That’s slated for a November release and seems weird to be a 16.1.1 release rather than 16.2.

 

[macsplusmacs]

Mid-December would match 15.2 release date, but what about Satellite SOS? That’s slated for a November release and seems weird to be a 16.1.1 release rather than 16.2.

Yah apple, let's give a hard update on this since it was such a big part of the iPhone event.

 

[FitzZic]

I don’t care about any new features at this point if it’s not a rework of the notification system.

 

[PauloSera]

Literally none of these are remotely significant compared to the HomeKit architecture update also coming 16.2 you managed to leave out.

 

[dunborg]

I’d like to have more languages for scribble, like Swedish.

 

[t0rqx]

re-adding features pretending it to be new features. Widget bar is so compact you basically just fit two widgets. With lot of other space available.

 

[PauloSera]

I'm curious how Macrumors is able to estimate that mid-December would be the next release.

Because these point releases usually take around 6 weeks give or take. It's not even an estimate really. It's history + math.

 

[Phreddyl]

Am I missing something… didnt we get live activities in 16.1? Did they pull it again? I am on the beta but I thought everyone got it a week ago.

 

[benmhall]

I am very happy to get external display back in the latest beta. It completely transforms how I use iPad and makes it a much more useful platform for me. Bonus: It’s much less buggy now in the 16.2 betas than it was a month or two ago.

 

[Chazak]

I have been an iPhone user since the original release. Never before have I experienced battery drain like I am after the introduction of iOS 16. Adding more features that run in the background and update constantly will only make it worse.

The old "it's indexing doing it" is not valid at this point. My phone and iPad battery sink like a mobile device version of the Titanic. Both began doing this with each of their update to 16. Every option and possible way to reduce drain has been done by me with no noticeable decrease in the problem.

 

[citysnaps]

Apple and bugs are kinda just par for the course now (and been for a while).

I guess why are we paying a premium though if they’re just like Google and Samsung now?

Well...simply go forth and find happiness with Google/Samsung!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Not bad. At least it’s still being released before this year is over. I’ve heard the battery life is extremely good on iOS 16.2.

 

[Shirasaki]

Meh, nothing much noteworthy really. No use of HomeKit yet. Freeform app isn’t going to make note taking experience much better, and sleep widget is, good to have i guess?
I‘d prefer them addressing the increasingly fake lockdown mode to make it actually locks your device out in a big way and address leaking VPN traffic. Failing that, at least make stage manager somewhat usable. Right now jiggling around takes a bit much effort than usual. Bring back old iOS 8 style multitask window selector.

 

[citysnaps]

In my opinion, ios 16 is shaping up as one of the most interesting releases since IOS 7.

My thoughts as well. I'm really looking forward to Freeform. That's looking to be an outstanding collaboration tool for creative people.

That it works across iOS/iPadOS and macOS is huge.

 

[gank41]

I'm curious how Macrumors is able to estimate that mid-December would be the next release.

It’s taken from Mark Gurman’s post.

 

[hajime]

That is so much waiting. Is the Beta version stable enough to use?

 

[mrial]

I have been an iPhone user since the original release. Never before have I experienced battery drain like I am after the introduction of iOS 16. Adding more features that run in the background and update constantly will only make it worse.

The old "it's indexing doing it" is not valid at this point. My phone and iPad battery sink like a mobile device version of the Titanic. Both began doing this with each of their update to 16. Every option and possible way to reduce drain has been done by me with no noticeable decrease in the problem.

I’m still using the 10s and I was thinking my older battery was actually lasting longer.