iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 update introduces Apple Sing, Freeform, Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

Apple has released the iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates for supported devices. The latest firmware brings Apple Sing, Freeform, Advanced Data Protection for iCloud.

What's new in the iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 update

Apple Sing

Last week, the Cupertino company announced a new feature for Apple Music, called Apple Sing. As the name suggests, this is an option that displays live lyrics (animated) as you listen to songs. It has some karaoke style options that you can use to adjust the vocals if you want to sing solo, duet, or mix it up.  Apple Sing is available worldwide on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV 4K for Apple Music subscribers. It's time to channel your inner rock star.

Image courtesy: Apple

Freeform

Freeform is a whiteboard app which you can use to draw, scribble, sketch, add files to your board, and collaborate with others to work on a shared board. I have explained about Freeform in my macOS Ventura 13.01 article, so you may want to read it for more information about it.

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

End-to-end encryption for data stored in iCloud is now a reality, you may use it to protect your photos, videos, iCloud Backup, etc., by enabling Advanced Data Protection from your device's settings. This feature is currently available for users in the U.S., and will be expanded worldwide in early 2023.

Stage Manager in iPadOS

iPadOS 16.2 extends support for Stage Manager to older iPads. This lets users drag and drop files and windows to and from another device. Users can place up to 4 app windows on iPads, and 4 on the external display. If you have an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later) and the iPad Air (5th generation), you may use it as an external display for Macs with up to 6K resolution.

Emergency SOS via satellite

Apple's Emergency SOS via satellite which debuted for users in the U.S., is now available for iPhone 14 users in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK.

Other improvements

The Always-On display on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max now allows you to hide the wallpaper or notifications. The Sleep widget displays your recent sleep data, while the Medications widget lets you view your reminders and schedule at a glance. Apple TV app's live activities now displays live scores of your favorite teams on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Game Center now supports SharePlay for multiplayer games, and allows you to play games with people you are on a FaceTime call with. The Activity Widget on your home screen displays your friends' recent game activity. The software update improves the reliability and efficiency of communication between your smart home accessories and Apple devices. iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 include fixes for 33 security vulnerabilities.

The Messages app's search feature now lets you find photos by content. e.g. text, dog, car, person, etc. The Notes app displays Participant Cursors, i.e., live indicators in shared notes, to show that other users are editing the note. The app should now sync changes that you made to your Notes to iCloud. Apple says it has optimized the crash detection feature in iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. Apple Safari has a new setting called Reload and Show IP Address, which iCloud Private Relay users can enable to temporarily disable the service for a specific site.

Your iPhone and iPad will alert you when it detects lost AirTags that are nearby and has recently chimed to indicate it is moving.  The news articles that appear in the Weather app will display content that corresponds to the location's weather. Using the Zoom accessibility feature was causing Multi-Touch gestures to become unresponsive, Apple has fixed the issue. AirDrop does not support requests indefinitely, it now reverts to "Contacts Only" after 10 minutes have passed, Apple claims this change was done to prevent unwanted requests.

The iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 update is available for the iPhone 8 and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later.

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