Apple issues fourth iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2 public betas

iOS 14.2 public beta 4 is now available

Arriving about 24 hours 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.

The fourth beta of iOS 14.2 has new photo and drawn wallpapers in the wallpaper selection menu, and support for the new Intercom feature. The third beta was for bug fixes, and the second beta introduced new emoji for the Unicode 13 release. In total, there are 58 new characters, faces, objects, and animals coming with iOS 14.2.

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 on 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].