On 13 December 2022, Apple and iPhone users were treated to all of the updates, fixes, refinements, and additions that come with the new iOS release. iOS 16.2 comes with a whole host of upgrades for your iPhone, with security improvements being a focus of the release. For that alone, it’s well worth installing 16.2.
Still, there’s a lot more to iOS 16.2 than additional security features, including a new app that’s bound to have Apple productivity nuts buzzing. Here are some of the key additions with the update.
Data Protection, Airdrop Security, And The New App
For the better part of a decade, Apple has been forced into doubling down on security features and then doubling down again with each iOS update. With iOS 16.2, this remains the same. New iCloud encryption additions arrive by way of Advanced Data Protection. What these essentially do is bulk up the encryption from each side when using the iCloud service.
All such device backups – including media, shortcuts, and Safari bookmarks – can also be fully encrypted, while there are new protection support features for iMessage, which comes in the form of key verification. Another app getting more of a security buff is AirDrop. AirDrop lets users quickly and easily drop media and documents to fellow Apple devices with little more than a few taps.
However, after an incident left many Apple users finding unwanted media in their AirDrop on a flight due to the “Everyone” feature being activated on one device, the app has been tweaked a bit. Now, the AirDrop setting for “Everyone” can only be open for ten minutes at a time before cutting you off from non-contacts. It adds a layer of security while not inhibiting the free-flowing sharing of files between fellow users.
Perhaps the headline-making addition that comes with iOS 16.2 is the Freeform app. Designed to facilitate “creative brainstorming and collaboration,” Freeform gives users the tools and platform to organize a collaborative project visually. Seeing it in action, it’s very much like having a huge whiteboard for you all to write, draw, and stick notes on, and it can be used while on FaceTime.
An Update For The Gamers
Thanks to Apple Arcade and the standards upheld in the App Store, Apple devices have become nirvana for mobile gamers. iPhone games clearly distinguish themselves from the droves of game apps permitted on Android devices by having pick-up-and-play gameplay, rewarding progression loops, crystal-clear visuals and audio, and by being inexpensive for gamers – even though iPhones are premium devices.
As well as the games, iPhones come with a bunch of apps that can further propel the gaming experience. One such feature is the Game Center. The Friends Are Playing widgets have become the Activity widget, and opening it will give a full-screen overlay, in which players can tap contacts to get to their profiles. It’s a small change but it makes the Game Center that much more user-friendly.
With iOS 16.2, iPhone users get a new app, plenty of security enhancements, and some usability upgrades that make activities like gaming even more enjoyable on Apple devices.
Images: Apple Inc.
