While iOS 10.1.1, released earlier today, is just a bug-fixing update, the upcoming iOS 10.2 will, befitting its name, bring an array of new features – and the first beta has just been released to developers.
As MacRumors has discovered, those features include Unicode 9 emoji, among them clown face, selfie, owl, butterfly, croissant and more. There are also new wallpapers using the same graphics previously featured in promotional materials for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Meanwhile, the Photos & Camera section of the Settings app gets a new Preserve Settings feature which lets the user save their most recently known camera settings. There’s a new widget, too – it’s for the Video app, and displays movies and TV shows which, when tapped, are played automatically.
Another new feature automatically notifies your emergency contacts when, on an iPhone or Apple Watch, you use the Emergency SOS feature, while Apple Music now lets you sort playlists by title, type and recently added.
If you are a developer enrolled in Apple’s iOS beta testing program, you can get this first iOS 10.2 beta via the Apple Developer Center or, provided that you have installed the proper configuration profile, the Software Update part of your iOS device’s Settings app.
We expect that iOS 10.2, as a major update, will be put through potentially weeks of beta testing before it is made available to the public.
