Apple releases second public beta of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2

Arriving two days after the developer betas went live, the public beta can be downloaded from Apple's Beta Software Program site. The beta content is likely to be the same as what was provided in the developer version.

In the second beta of iOS 14.2, Apple has introduced a plethora of new emoji, including bubble tea, strawberry, flip flop, and more. The new emoji are part of the Unicode 13 release. In total, there are 58 new characters, faces, objects, and animals coming with iOS 14.2.

Other minor changes include tweaks to the Now Playing screen in Control Center and the Home app.

For those who have the Apple Watch Series 6, iOS 14.2 beta 2 combined with watchOS 7.1 beta 2 bring support back for the new Blood Oxygen app as well as the new watch faces that were missing in the original beta.

The first beta of iOS 14.2 saw Shazam added to Control Center as well as a redesign of the Now Playing interface and people distance to the Measure accessibility app.

AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly suggest users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. It is instead recommended to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to ensure there are sufficient backups of important data beforehand.

Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at [email protected].