Apple quietly pushed out a lengthy iOS software update today. While the day was largely dominated by Apple’s “It’s Show Time” event in which the iPhone maker announced news, gaming, and TV subscription services, it just released updates that will help users get settled with some of the new announcements.
Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ won’t be available until the fall, so iOS 12.2’s biggest updates revolve around Apple News+. The company’s new, $10-per-month news and magazine subscription service requires an update to the existing News app, which brings the UI for top articles and magazine issues chosen by Apple editors. The updated News app will also allow subscribers to read content offline and receive personalized recommendations based on topics that are most interesting to them.
iOS 12.2 also adds support for Apple’s newest AirPods, which carry the new H1 chip that lets wearers call upon Siri without touching the AirPods first. The update also lets users summon Siri from iPhones or iPads to play any video, show, movie, sports game, or channel on their Apple TVs, essentially extending Siri’s role on mobile devices as a virtual remote for the Apple TV.
While iOS 12.2 is full of small improvements, it likely won’t make your iPhone or iPad look completely different. Today, we’re also expecting updates to macOS with the release of macOS 10.14.4, but at the time of publishing this article, 10.14.4 is not available yet. We believe that update will bring Safari Autofilling using TouchID as well as dark-mode activation in Safari for sites that support a dark-mode setting.
Apple’s full release notes for iOS 12.2 are as follows:
iOS 12.2 provides support for Apple News+, adds the ability for Siri to play videos from your iOS device to Apple TV, and includes four new Animoji. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.
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
Update, 6:53pm ET: MacOS 10.14.4 is now available as a software update. The update brings Dark Mode to Safari websites that support a dark-mode setting, as well as numerous changes to support the new Apple News+ service. Full release notes can be found on Apple’s support site.
