iOS 10.2 Official Release Possibly Next Month? Beta 2 Arrives Today With SOS Feature

The Apple iOS 10.2 beta 2 arrives today. Currently available to registered developers only, the latest iOS 10 beta update offers more new features, one of them is definitely going to be helpful during emergency situations.

According to Mac Rumors, the iOS 10.2 beta 2 update contains a new SOS feature designed to call emergency services when the iOS device’s power button is pressed five times. Head to Settings menu and choose General to access the settings for the SOS feature. The post also shared the following.

“According to Apple’s release notes, SOS works in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, UK, and US.”

Also new in iOS 10.2 beta 2 update is the “TV” app which aims to serve as a TV guide. The Music app, on the other hand, should show “more prominent Shuffle and Repeat buttons” when the playing a song.

Public beta testers may have to wait a few days before they can finally install the iOS 10.2 beta 2 on their Apple phones or tablets. For now, they have the first iOS 10.2 beta update to test out and explore. Released last week for the public testers, beta 1 brought in some new features. One of the highlights of the iOS 10.2 beta 1 is a feature that will definitely be useful for those who frequently use the camera app.

While the iOS 10.1 version concentrated mainly on the Portrait Mode, which is available only for the iPhone 7 Plus’ dual-camera setup, the official iOS 10.2 update is expected to come with several interesting new features. For instance, found in the iOS 10.2 beta 1 is a new camera setting which could give more convenience to iPhone shutterbugs out there.

Called the Preserve Camera Settings, this function allows the camera users to keep the previous settings on their iPhone’s or iPad’s photo snapper. Totally a time-saving feature, they won’t have to set the camera to the specific modes they want again and again every time they take a picture. By enabling this new camera feature, iOS device owners will now have the option to retain the last photo filter they used, the latest Camera Mode or even the Live Photo setting, Phone Arena reported. When this iOS 10.2 camera feature is disabled, the default Photo Filter will be None while the Camera Mode will automatically utilize the Default settings.

Aside from the new camera feature, public testers and registered Apple developers currently exploring the first iOS 10.2 beta update should also find a total of 72 of new emojis to the iOS keyboard.

Here are the emojis coming with iOS 10.2, including an astronaut emoji ? https://t.co/MLkJDevNG9 by @romaindillet pic.twitter.com/EW4v0X1ovB

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) October 31, 2016

There are also 2 new wallpapers to find but only for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Support for Apple’s new Single Sign-On feature. Here’s a video showing the changes and features to find after installing the iOS 10.2 first beta on compatible Apple devices.

A specific release date for the official and final iOS 10.2 version has not been disclosed by Apple yet but Gotta Be Mobile noted that it could roll out anytime next month. For those who can’t wait to try out the new features coming to Apple’s next iOS 10 iteration, the best action to do for now is download the latest iOS 10.2 beta update available.

To be able to download and install the freshest iOS 10.2 beta version available, developers need to be registered first with the official Apple Developer Program. Non-developers, meaning the public testers, should first sign up for Apple’s Beta program to have access to the iOS 10.2 beta 1 update available via over-the-air or OTA process. Updating your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch through iTunes is also possible.

To access the latest version of the iOS 10.2 beta through an OTA update, simply head to the device’s Settings menu, look for General and then tap Software Updates. The system will search for available update and once it appears, just tap Download and Install. Then just follow the succeeding on-screen prompts to successfully get the latest iOS 10 beta.

[Featured Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]