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Apple issues fourth developer betas of iOS 10.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.2, watchOS 3.1.1

Apple on Monday provided registered developers with new pre-release builds of three to test on three its four major platforms: iOS, macOS, and watchOS.

Developers can now download all three betas from Apple's developer portal, or via Software Update on registered devices. The build numbers are identified as:

  • macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta 4 (16C53a)
  • iOS 10.2 beta 4 (14C82)
  • watchOS 3.1.1 beta 4 (14S879)

The updates for macOS and iOS arrive two weeks after developers were provided with the third beta. Notably, a new build of tvOS was not supplied this time.

For many, the most obvious changes in iOS 10.2 may be its emoji, as the update includes redrawn images and 72 new characters, conforming with Unicode 9.0. The new iOS and tvOS versions also include a new dedicated "TV" app.

iPhone 7 owners will also gain new wallpapers with the forthcoming iOS 10.2 release, while the native Videos app gains widget support. Apple is also adding a new "Celebration" effect in messages.

iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 will also add single sign-on support for streaming TV, allowing users subscribed to cable or online-only services to access channels across multiple apps without constantly re-authenticating.