Andrew O'Hara
Apple with the second beta release of iOS 12 further tuned its upcoming operating system with a number of system-wide tweaks and refinements. AppleInsider details everything new in our hands-on video.
Apple seeded beta 2 just two weeks after iOS 12 debuted onstage at WWDC 2018. This major update for iPhone and iPad has new Memoji characters, digital health features, Group FaceTime, redesigned notifications and a whole lot more. So far, AppleInsider has been able to track down a total of 150 new features.
As far as what has changed since the original beta, the list is considerably smaller; AppleInsider managed to dig up over 30 changes in beta 2. Watch our quick video to see the updates for yourself.
Notable changes
- Battery stats have been redesigned
- In the Home app, cameras have been removed from "Notifications" section
- In Home app, Locks has become "Doors and Locks" in Notifications section
- In Home app,Locks (now Doors and Locks) has new icon in Notifications section
- In Home app, Blinds has new icon in Notifications section
- Screen Time automatically turned off in beta 2, needs re-enabled
- New splash screen for Screen Time
- Removed toggle for clearing Screen Time data
- Interface for adding time limits to apps from the main Screen Time screen has been tweaked
- Tapping on an app displays more info on the app in Screen Time
- Toggle off Siri Suggestions for individual apps in Settings
- New iCloud Keychain modal
- New location icon in status bar
- iPad gets pull down handle for Control Center on Lock Screen
- In Spotlight, new arrows for shortcuts to apps
- Podcasts app shows Now Playing indicator on current chapter
- iMessages preview animation on Lock Screen (and other preview animations) looks great
- New SIM pin unlock screen
- Time Travel removed from Watch app
- Smaller text in App Store search
- In Photos, Albums and media type names are larger
- Face ID animations are quicker
- Spotlight now listed in Browse section of News app
- AM and PM show on iPad status bar clock
- AirPlay icon is now blue when connected in Music Lock Screen widget
- Suggestion animation in Spotlight is much smoother
- Carrier info back in Settings
- When signing in with Face ID, now says "Scanning with Face ID"
- New splash screen for Voice Memos app
- New splash screen for Shortcuts in Spotlight
- iPhone apps running on iPad now use larger iPhone 6 version
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
9 Comments
Seems like iOS 12 is coming along nicely, and if this keeps up, will be an awesome update to 11, especially for older devices!
I think I'll once again be one of those who will update day 1!
I always wish the bugs of the current iOS version fixed in the next iOS version and be seen in their betas. Usually disappointed I have been. Like, the Bluetooth won’t or very often, not connecting to my Bluetooth headphones “automatically, as from iOS 11, and even worse in iOS 11.4. Is it better now in iOS 12 Beta? Tell me.
Another bug in iOS 11.4 is the spotlight search of calendar events over 1 year. The events are there on Mac, iCloud and iOS devices, searchable on MacOS and iCloud.com, but not searchable on iOS devices. I did not see the bug fixed on the iOS 12 Beta. Do something, Apple.
Every time the FaceID camera was used, there was a red LED-like light shining. Is that because you were recording a video by pointing another camera at it, or is that a visual cue in iOS 12?