Top Stories: iOS 17.2 Released, iPhone 16 Design Leaks, and More

[MacRumors]

We're into the thick of the holiday season now, and Apple has been busy wrapping up its software work for 2023 with this week's public release of iOS 17.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2, and other updates, plus the first round of betas for iOS 17.3 and friends.

On the hardware side, Apple released a standalone USB-C case for AirPods Pro 2 owners looking to make the switch from their original Lightning case, while we shared some details on Apple's design work for next year's iPhone 16, so read on for all the details on these stories and more!

What's New in iOS 17.2

After around six weeks of beta testing and refinement, Apple this week officially released iOS 17.2 and related updates for its other platforms.

iOS 17.2 is a fairly substantial update that brings the new Journal app first previewed at WWDC back in June, spatial recording capabilities for iPhone 15 Pro ahead of the Vision Pro headset launch in early 2024, a new Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, Music app improvements, and more.

The update also moves TV show and movie purchases out of the iTunes Store app and over to the TV app.

Top Five Features in macOS Sonoma 14.2

Alongside iOS 17.2, Apple also released macOS Sonoma 14.2 this week, and it brings a number of updates and new features, including Messages improvements like a catch-up arrow for busy conversations and quicker access to sticker reactions.

Other top additions in macOS 14.2 include new AutoFill capabilities for PDFs, new Weather widgets for the Mac desktop, support for multiple timers in the Clock app, and Shazam music recognition improvements.

Check out our video for more on these new features!

iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature to iPhone

With iOS 17.2 and related updates out the door, Apple has moved on to beta testing for the next round of updates, led by iOS 17.3.

iOS 17.3 includes an optional new Stolen Device Protection feature that is designed to add an additional layer of security in the event someone has stolen your iPhone and also obtained the device's passcode.

The update also brings back a collaborative Apple Music playlists feature that was in early betas of iOS 17.2 but pulled prior to public release. The feature lets multiple people contribute to a single playlist, complete with animated emoji reactions to express how you feel about certain songs.

iPhone 16 Early Prototypes: What Apple's Next-Generation iPhone Will Look Like

With the launch of the iPhone 15, Apple introduced design changes like a curved frame and a frosted glass back. Information acquired by MacRumors suggests that Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 will build on these updates with modifications to the buttons and the camera layout.

We have details on early pre-production designs for the ‌iPhone 16‌, including a look at the variants and hardware configurations that Apple has considered so far. Our information comes early in the design process, so things have yet to be finalized, but it's interesting to see the designs Apple has been considering.

Apple Now Selling Standalone USB-C AirPods Pro Case for $99

Apple this week began selling a MagSafe USB-C AirPods Pro 2 Case on a standalone basis for $99, allowing customers who own the Lightning charging case to upgrade to USB-C.

Apple introduced a new version of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 with USB-C Charging Case in September, but at the time, there was no option to buy a USB-C case on its own. Customers with the Lightning-based ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 had no upgrade path, but those who want to have USB-C charging across all of their devices can now pay a $99 fee to get the new version.

Apple Expands Self Service Repair in Europe, Now Covers iPhone 15 and M2 Macs

Apple has been gradually expanding its Self Service Repair program that allows customers and independent repair shops to obtain authorized parts and tools, and this week saw another significant expansion.

The iPhone 15 lineup and M2-powered Macs are now included in the program, while users in 24 additional European countries are now eligible to participate. Finally, users in the U.S. now have access to Apple Diagnostics to help test devices and identify parts that may need repair.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Article Link: Top Stories: iOS 17.2 Released, iPhone 16 Design Leaks, and More

 

[YKApple]

Hot take: I actually like the current camera layout. The only pro for a vertical layout is spatial video, which is understandable, but the current layout is great at filling the space. And will Apple really give us Spatial Video for the iPhone 16? There is a chance they keep it “pro-only” for another year.

 

[Lizzard899]

They need to focus on fixing the iclouds backup bug. My icloud backup keeps increasing instead of decreasing AFTER Ive deleted texts etc. ALSO next backup size isn't showing up either. AND the messages in icloud feature, that toggle wont turn on. This only started happening on ios 17.2

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

I love the new watchOS 10.2 “feature” (or bug) that when you swipe between watch faces, the time temporarily shows 10:09:30.

 

[klasma]

They need to focus on fixing the iclouds backup bug. My icloud backup keeps increasing instead of decreasing AFTER Ive deleted texts etc. ALSO next backup size isn't showing up either.

Are you sure they aren’t still in Trash or similar? That could explain the size increase.

Apart from that, I agree that iCloud services often behave in buggy ways.

 

[TruthAboveAllElse]

They need to focus on fixing the iclouds backup bug. My icloud backup keeps increasing instead of decreasing AFTER Ive deleted texts etc. ALSO next backup size isn't showing up either. AND the messages in icloud feature, that toggle wont turn on. This only started happening on ios 17.2

Are you sure they aren’t still in Trash or similar? That could explain the size increase.

Apart from that, I agree that iCloud services often behave in buggy ways.

I've had this happen to me before. I've found Apple's services to be quite buggy. If you contact Apple Support they can usually fix this though. (They did fix it for me.)

 

[TruthAboveAllElse]

Hot take: I actually like the current camera layout. The only pro for a vertical layout is spatial video, which is understandable, but the current layout is great at filling the space. And will Apple really give us Spatial Video for the iPhone 16? There is a chance they keep it “pro-only” for another year.

I'd bet if they do bring spatial video the the base iPhone (which I think they will) then we get this new layout. I don't think they would change the layout without bringing spatial video to the base iPhone.

 

[Lizzard899]

Are you sure they aren’t still in Trash or similar? That could explain the size increase.

Apart from that, I agree that iCloud services often behave in buggy ways.

Oh yes I delete them from the trash bin all the time. I am always told itll fix itself on server end eventually. They always tell me it might take a few days to 180 days. They will just magically disappear. I only have 25 contact 1 photo 0 texts. So I dont understand how my icloud backup keeps increasing everyday when Ive manually deleted texts. They should give us a way to look at them on the server end but theres no way for us to do that. We always have to call them for them to do it and I refuse to do that.

 

[Lizzard899]

I've had this happen to me before. I've found Apple's services to be quite buggy. If you contact Apple Support they can usually fix this though. (They did fix it for me.)

I refuse to be on the phone with them for hours. I have heard it will fix itself eventually on the server end. I heard it might take 4 days or 180 days. Or longer I would guess. My issue is I manually delete texts everyday. I delete them from deleted texts bin too. I even bought more storage to be safe. I literally only have 25 contacts 1 photo 0 texts so dont understand why my storage keeps increasing. Its weird. Did they tell you how long they keep them on the server end when you called them? Because like I said Ive been told it could be up to 180 days or more I would guess. I didnt have this issue until AFTER I updated to ios 17.2 Monday

 

[JosephAW]

Finally took the plunge on my 14 Pro, noticed two things: they finally fixed the delayed keyboard bug introduced in 16.3 and I had a bugger of a time getting hotspot to work with my Apple TV, rebooted everything and it didn't work at all through my Wi-Fi repeater and directly connecting to my hotspot still would give me no internet and I noticed that the default IP address is for hotspot changed it now starts with 192 where before it was 172 so something changed on the back and they still don't have the bugs worked out but eventually I got it to work directly.
Also I've had several problems with location sharing in iMessage with several users including one family share member, apparently if you don't have two form authentication on you can no longer see someone's location in iMessage but still works in Find My, probably another bug fix.

 

[Lizzard899]

Finally took the plunge on my 14 Pro, noticed two things: they finally fixed the delayed keyboard bug introduced in 16.3 and I had a bugger of a time getting hotspot to work with my Apple TV, rebooted everything and it didn't work at all through my Wi-Fi repeater and directly connecting to my hotspot still would give me no internet and I noticed that the default IP address is for hotspot changed it now starts with 192 where before it was 172 so something changed on the back and they still don't have the bugs worked out but eventually I got it to work directly.
Also I've had several problems with location sharing in iMessage with several users including one family share member, apparently if you don't have two form authentication on you can no longer see someone's location in iMessage but still works in Find My, probably another bug fix.

Yea I found when I got my new phone I went from iphone 8 to iphone se 3rd generation. I found that not all the settings I had on my iphone 8 switched over to my new phone when I restored from backup. Theres some things in my settings that NOW apparently require 2fa which I didnt know about. But Now Im used to those settings being off because I dont have 2fa turned on. My only issue now is them deleting texts on the server end. I manually delete my texts and Ive been told by apple that it takes up to 4 days to be deleted on the server end....sometimes 180 days. Now all of a sudden after I updated to ios 17.2 on monday my backup storage has increased from 55mb-58mb because Im thinking the texts Ive deleted arent deleted on the server end. Its like theres a glitch on the server end. Which I was told happens sometimes and it usually fixes itself everntually.

 

[JosephAW]

Notice a new bug. Text and Siri sounds is at full volume. No way to turn them down. I can only lower the ringer. Normally when Siri is talking you can lower the volume. No longer. Ugh

 

[Lizzard899]

Notice a new bug. Text and Siri sounds is at full volume. No way to turn them down. I can only lower the ringer. Normally when Siri is talking you can lower the volume. No longer. Ugh

Oh yeah everyones saying that, but I dont do siri. I have that off. If you go to this link on apple thats a thread I started listing all the known bugs in icloud in ios 17.2 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255347772?sortBy=best

 

[JosephAW]

Oh yeah everyones saying that, but I dont do siri. I have that off. If you go to this link on apple thats a thread I started listing all the known bugs in icloud in ios 17.2 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255347772?sortBy=best

Reboot fixed the sound. I must've rebooted five times in the last day.

 

[Lizzard899]

Reboot fixed the sound. I must've rebooted five times in the last day.

yeah theres also a bug where you cant turn on messages in icloud. Not that I had it on to begin with but I noticed when I tried to turn it on it went off and then I went to hold it to toggle on and it went off. So its def a bug in ios 17.2. Theres so many bugs in icloud in this ios 17.2 its crazy

 

[MaxBurn]

I love the new watchOS 10.2 “feature” (or bug) that when you swipe between watch faces, the time temporarily shows 10:09:30.

In watch culture 10:10 is THE dominant time to display in pictures and adds. The "victory" hand position is chosen because it in general doesn't block any complications on most watches.

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