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iOS 16.2 RC for iPhone now available with Freeform app, Apple Music Sing, more

Updated Dec 8th, 2022 11:59AM EST
Dynamic Island animation in use for the Phone app on iPhone 14 Pro.
Image: Apple Inc.

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After a month of beta testing iOS 16.2, Apple is seeding iOS 16.2 Release Candidate version, which means this will likely be the build the company will make available to all users in the next week. Here are the top features you should expect Apple to introduce to iPhone users soon.

iOS 16.2 RC comes alongside Release Candidate versions of iPadOS 16.2, watchOS 9.2, tvOS 16.2, and macOS Ventura 13.1. Here are some of the features users should expect to see on their iPhones starting next week:

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

One of the most important functions 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.

Yesterday, Apple announced that Apple Music Sing, a sing-along experience for users to take advantage of while using the streaming service, would be available later this month. In today’s RC notes, the company says it’s now live.

BGR will report if the iOS 16.2 RC version has more features than we already know.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.