iOS 16.2 beta 4 now available as Apple aims for December release

A couple of weeks after the latest beta, Apple is seeding iOS 16.2 beta 4 to all developers. While the company “skipped” a week due to the Thanksgiving holidays, it’s now back in full swing with the latest beta of its future operating systems. Here’s what you need to know about iOS 16.2 and the other software versions.

iOS 16.2 beta 4 comes alongside new versions of iPadOS 16.2 beta 4, watchOS 9.2 beta 4, tvOS 16.2 beta 4, and macOS Ventura 13.1 beta 4. This week, Apple continued to test its “Security Response” feature as it released another patch. Although it’s unclear what’s changed from the previous one, the company still states that this update is for testing purposes only.

Here are some of the features iOS 16.2 users will be able to take advantage of when the operating system is available:

• New architecture for the Home app;
• The ability to keep Live Activities updated more frequently;
• Apple New Integration in Weather app with regional stories;
• Sleep and Medications widget coming soon;
• Improved Always-On display for iPhone 14 Pro users.

One of the most important features coming with iOS 16.2 is Freeform. This app is a white canvas that iPadOS 16.2 and macOS Ventura 13.1 users will also be able to take advantage of. It was introduced during the WWDC 2022 keynote, and at that time, Apple said it would launch this feature later in 2022.

Apple calls this app “a powerful new collaboration application with a flexible canvas that allows users to see, share, and collaborate all in one place without worrying about layouts and page sizes, and with full support for Apple Pencil.

In addition to Freeform, iPadOS 16.2 brings support to external displays again. This feature was supposed to be available alongside the Stage Manager release. Still, due to bugs and users’ complaints, Apple launched Stage Manager without support for an external display with iPadOS 16.1. Now beta testers can experience Stage Manager with an external display on M1 and M2 iPads again.

BGR will let you know whether there are new features with today’s betas.

More Apple Coverage: iOS 16.2 to be released to all users in mid-December