Besides announcing several new services such as Apple Card, Arcade, News+, Apple TV+, Cupertino-based company also released the new iOS 12.2 to all eligible iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch models bringing new features and also support for some aforementioned services.
The Apple iOS 12.2 weighs a little over 820MB and comes with four new Animoji including a Giraffe, a Shark, an Owl, and a Boar. It also brings Apple News+ outside the US, but only to Canada for now.
New AirPlay 2 with multi-tasking ability including TV controls in Control Center and on the Lock Screen will now give you quick access to TV controls on eligible Apple devices and also now, Siri can be invoked on your iPhone or iPad to play any video, show, movie, sports game, or channel on Apple TV.
Besides the new features, the Apple iOS 12.2 comes several bug fixes including improving quality of audio recordings in Messages, resolves the issue that prevented some missed calls from appearing in Notification Center and several more.
Apple iOS 12.2 release notes:
Apple News+
- Apple News+ is a new subscription service that extends the Apple News experience with hundreds of magazines and top newspapers
- Our editors handpick top articles and magazine issues, and you also get personalized recommendations on the topics most interesting to you
- Automatic downloads make it easy to read magazine issues offline
- Apple News is now available in Canada, with a free experience that includes handpicked Top Stories, a personalized Today feed, and support for both English and French
- Apple News+ is available in the U.S. and in Canada, with dozens of additional Canadian magazines
Siri
- Ask Siri on your iPhone or iPad to play any video, show, movie, sports game, or channel on Apple TV. For example, “Hey Siri, play Free Solo on my TV”
Animoji
- Four new Animoji—owl, boar, giraffe and shark—are included for iPhone X and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) and iPad Pro 11-inch
AirPlay
- Dedicated TV controls in Control Center and on the Lock Screen give you quick access to TV controls
- AirPlay multitasking for video allows you to browse other apps, as well as play other short form audio and video files locally on your device without interrupting AirPlay
- AirPlay destinations are now grouped by content type making it faster for you to find what device you want to play to
Apple Pay
- Apple Pay Cash customers can now transfer money to their bank accounts instantly using their Visa debit cards
- Wallet app now conveniently displays Apple Pay credit and debit transactions right below the card
Screen Time
- Downtime can be configured with a different schedule for each day of the week
- A new toggle enables easily turning app limits on or off temporarily
Safari
- Website sign-in now occurs automatically after filling credentials with Password AutoFill
- Warnings now appear when loading unencrypted webpages
- Removes support for the expired Do Not Track standard to prevent potential use as a fingerprinting variable; Intelligent Tracking Prevention now protects against cross-site tracking by default
- Smart Search Field queries can now be modified by tapping the arrow icon next to search suggestions
Apple Music
- The Browse tab shows more editorial highlights on a single page making it easier to discover new music, playlists, and more
AirPods
- Support for new AirPods (2nd generation)
This update also includes other improvements and bug fixes. This update:
- Supports Air Quality Index in Maps for US, UK, and India
- Includes information in Settings on how much time remains on your device’s warranty period
- Supports real-time text (RTT) for phone calls made through a nearby iPhone on iPad and iPod Touch
- Displays a “5G E” icon for iPhone 8 and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) or iPad Pro 11-inch indicating that users are in an area where AT&T’s 5G Evolution network is available
- Improves quality of audio recordings in Messages
- Improves stability and performance of Apple TV Remote on iOS
- Fixes an issue that prevented some missed calls from appearing in Notification Center
- Addresses an issue where a badge notification could appear on Settings even though no action is needed
- Addresses an issue in Settings > General > iPhone Storage where the storage size of some large apps, the System category, and the Other category in the storage bar graph could be incorrect
- Fixes an issue that could cause Voice Memos to automatically play back recordings after connecting to a car Bluetooth device
- Resolves an issue that could cause Voice Memos to temporarily prevent renaming a recording
- Swift ABI stability
Here’s how to install Apple iOS 12.2 on your iPhone or iPad or iPod Touch (6th Gen):
Via OTA (Over-The-Air):
- 1. Settings >> General >> Software update
- [Tip: Users’ who want to install the update directly on the device via OTA, make sure to clear enough device storage space and also make sure the device has more than 50% battery life, before downloading the new OS firmware]
Via iTunes
1. Back up your iPhone or iPad with either iCloud or via iTunes.
2. Launch iTunes on your Mac or PC.
3. Make sure you’re on the latest version of iTunes. Go to About and then Check for Updates or visit iTunes.com.
4. Plug in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch if it isn’t already.
5. Click on iPhone, iPad, or iPod in the top left navigation.
6. Click on the Check for Update button in the first section that contains information about your device and alternately you can click restore instead if you’d like to do a clean wipe with updated software.
7. An update should be recognised, click on Download and Update in the popup menu and agree to any terms or conditions.
8. Unlock your device with your passcode if prompted in order to continue with the upgrade.
