Apple has released iOS 14.2 today, a Thursday, a day that they usually avoid in case of problems, so that the weekend is not a problem. They usually update iOS on Tuesdays for that reason. In any case, here it is.
This new version brings us among other things more than 100 new emojis, because there are never enough
In addition to that, Apple enables the intercom functionality between Homepods, a new functionality that allows you to send quick audio messages from one speaker to another, like a walkie-talkie, in a similar way to how you can do from one Apple Watch to another.
Another novelty is that we can now find the audio recognition button of the Shazam integration in iOS directly in the Control Center, so that we do not have to use Siri necessarily to recognize a song that is playing at that moment in the place where we are. It is simply more comfortable and faster if we have the iPhone at hand.
Apple has also released iOS 12.4.9 for older devices that need compatibility with others like Apple Watch. The music control widget now offers other albums as well so you can discover new music, when no song is playing. It’s also now possible to charge AirPods more slowly, so they spend less time with their battery fully charged, like the iPhone or newer MacBook models have long done. This extends the life of the batteries considerably.
An especially important novelty is the one that allows you to use the LiDAR sensor of the iPhone 12 Pro to detect people who are nearby and measure the distance, as it helps people with visual impairments. This can be a real lifesaver for many people who often need this kind of help.
You can update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 14.2 (or iPadOS 14.2) from the App Settings → General → Software Update. This is the complete list of changes that Apple delivers with this iOS update.
iOS 14.2 includes the following improvements for the iPhone:
- More than 100 new emojis of animals, food, faces, household objects, musical instruments, and gender-inclusive emojis, among others.
- Eight new wallpapers with versions for light mode and for dark mode.
- The magnifying glass can detect people who are nearby and show how far away they are thanks to the LiDAR sensor built into the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
- Compatibility with iPhone 12 leather case with MagSafe.
- AirPods battery charging has been optimized by reducing the time the earbuds are fully charged to slow down battery drain.
- You can receive notifications of the audio level of the headphones when the sound is at a level that can damage your hearing.
- New AirPlay controls have been added to stream the content played throughout the house.
- The intercom function of the HomePod and HomePod mini can be used with the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and CarPlay.
- The HomePod can be connected to an Apple TV 4K to enjoy surround stereo sound and Dolby Atmos audio.
- Users are offered the ability to provide statistics on exposure notifications to collaborating public health authorities.
This release also fixes the following issues:
- Apps could appear out of order on the home screen’s Dock.
- When opening the camera, the viewfinder could be displayed in black.
- When entering the code on the keypad on the locked screen, some keystrokes may not be recognized.
- When setting reminders, a default time may appear already past.
- The Photos widget may not display content.
- The Weather widget could display the maximum temperature in degrees Celsius when the device was configured to use degrees Fahrenheit.
- The description of the graph of precipitation in the next hour in the Weather app might not correctly indicate when the precipitation stopped.
- Voice memo recordings were interrupted when receiving a call.
- The screen could go black while playing Netflix videos.
- When opening the Apple Watch app, it might quit unexpectedly.
- The GPS routes of the workouts or the health data of some users could not be synchronized between the Apple Watch and the iPhone.
- The CarPlay panel incorrectly displayed the label “Not playing” when audio was playing.
- Some devices may not charge wirelessly.
- Exposure notifications were disabled when restoring iPhone from iCloud backup or transferring data to a new iPhone using iPhone migration feature.
For information about the security content of Apple software updates, visit this website: