Apple Begins Testing iOS 16.1.2 Beta 4 With Improved Notification Center

Apple has reportedly begun rolling out iOS 16.2 Beta 4, its latest public beta for eligible iPhone models. The update which is now available for public testing seeks to improve how users access and view their notifications on phones that have been updated to the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. Registered iPhone developers and beta testers on the latest iOS 16.2 Beta 4 update will now be able to view their notifications by swiping up within the Notification Center. iOS 16.2 had was first issued to beta testers by the Cupertino, California-based iPhone back in October and has been tipped to roll out to all users by later this month.

Developers and beta testers who have registered themselves with Apple will be able to download the iOS 16.2 Beta 4 update from the company’s Developer Center, according to a report by MacRumors. The update tests an improved way to access and view notifications by limiting the need for scrolling, as per a report by The Verge.

Users on iOS 16 and earlier versions like iOS 15 were required to manually swipe up and scroll from the middle of the Notification centre to access older notifications. Simply unlocking the phone and locking it again would cause iOS 16 and older versions to treat them as old notifications and send them to the Notification Center even if the user hadn’t read them. Since revealing older notifications on Notification Center require extra effort in terms of swiping up, they could be missed altogether.

This is what Apple seems to be attempting to fix by introducing a simpler way of accessing both old and new notifications on the Notification Center. The company will reportedly limit the gesture required to a single swipe.

However, it is worth noting that the changes being tested are reportedly only limited to the notification centre and do not alter the way notifications are displayed on the lock screen. If this is true, the notification centre may continue to hide older notifications unless the user swipes up from the middle of the screen.

Currently, there has been no confirmation from Apple on the features being tested on the latest iOS 16.2 Beta 4 update for developers and it is also not known if the features being reported as in testing will make its way to the fully stable iOS 16.2 which is expected to arrive later this month.

Apple previously rolled out an update to iOS 16.1.2 for all users with compatible iPhone models last week, which improves the crash detection feature for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro users.