Apple's biggest update to iOS 10 yet, iOS 10.2, featuring new emoji, extra features in iMessage, and for EE customers in the UK, voice calling. iOS 10.2, released on Monday evening, also fixes a number of bugs in iOS 10, which was released along with the iPhone 7 in September, as well as a number of smaller updates.
How to download it
iOS 10.2 should pop up as a software update on your iPhone, but if you want to check to make sure it's available, you can find it in the iPhone's settings.
Go to Settings, then General and Software Update to find it. You'll have to agree to the installation and tap in your passcode. The download should begin and then restart your phone, although once it's finished downloading you might have to go back to the screen to install. The update is available for anyone running iOS 10 - so those of you on iPhone 4 or iPad 3, bad luck. So What's new?
New emoji
By far the most visible change in iOS 10.2 is the introduction of over 100 new emoji to the iOS keyboard. These have been well trailed by beta versions of the software, but include a range of different new symbols. Among the highlights are a facepalm, a shruggie and a selfie symbol - the full list is below.
More iMessage effects
There are two new full-screen effects in iMessage, adding to those included in iOS 10. Full-screen effects happen when you hold down on the send button in iMessage, then flick over from Bubble to Screen, at which point you can swipe between them. The new effects are love - which creates a big heart - and celebration, which you can see below.
Voice over LTE (or VoLTE) means clearer voice calls and faster connections, but it has been a little bit behind other countries in the UK. If you're on EE, iOS now supports using voice calls over 4G.
You don't have to do anything for it to be turned on, but just to check, go to Settings, Mobile Data, Mobile Data Options, Enable 4G and select "Voice & Data". 4G voice calls - which are already on Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Google Pixel phones - generally sound much better, even when you're phoning a landline or phone that doesn't have the feature.
New TV app
It's only available in the US at present, but Apple has a new TV app that's meant to put all your shows and downloads in one place: effectively an Apple TV on your phone. Apps such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will be able to support it, although they don't appear to at present.
Everything else
- On the iPhone 7 there are three new wallpapers - basically coloured blobs on black backgrounds
- The controls in the Music app have changed, so you can swipe up from the now playing screen to access shuffle, repeat and up next
- You can now rate songs in the Music app
- Improved Bluetooth performance for third party accessories - connect a pair of headphones for example, and a little logo will appear in the top right of the screen showing it as a pair of headphones
- The accuracy of people recognition in the photos app has improved so that people are grouped better
- The problem where FaceTime calls appeared out of focus has been fixed.
Editor - Liam McClelland | @Liamicy | Source: Telegraph