Apple Releases iOS 10.2 With New TV App, New Emoji, and More

Apple today released iOS 10.2 to the public, marking the launch of the second major update to the iOS 10 operating system since it launched on September 13. iOS 10.2 has been in testing since October 31, with seven betas seeded to developers and public beta testers.

The iOS 10.2 update is available as a free-over-the-air update for all iOS 10 users, and it can also be downloaded via iTunes.

As a major 10.x update, iOS 10.2 introduces new features and design tweaks to iOS 10. It includes a new "TV" app, which is designed to serve as an Apple-designed TV guide that aims to simplfy the television-watching experience and help users discover new TV shows and movies to watch.


Along with the TV app, Apple recently debuted the long-awaited Single Sign-On feature, allowing cable subscribers to sign in once with their cable credentials to access all live cable content available within various apps. Single Sign-On is currently available for CenturyLink Prism, DirecTV, Dish, GVTC, GTA, Hawaiian Telcom, Hotwire, Metrocast, Service Electric, and Sling TV. Both Single Sign-On and the TV app are available across multiple devices, including the Apple TV.

A range of new emoji are included in the update, like clown face, face palm, selfie, fox face, owl, bacon, avocado, croissant, and more. There are more than a hundred new emoji, including several profession emoji available in both male and female genders. Apple has also redesigned many existing emoji, adding more detail to make them look more realistic.


iOS 10.2 also includes new wallpaper, revamped sorting options and some design tweaks to the Repeat and Shuffle buttons in the Music app, new "Celebrate" and "Send With Love" Screen Effects, an option for preserving camera settings, a new "Saved" stories section in News, a TV widget, and new TV settings.

Multiple Photos improvements have been included, such as improved stabilization and faster frame rates for Live Photos. The accuracy of groupings of similar photos of the same person has been improved in the People album, and an issue causing Photos to generate memories using screenshots, whiteboards, or receipts has been fixed.

To see all of the changes that were introduced throughout the beta testing period, make sure to check out our beta videos: Beta 1, Beta 2, Beta 3. For more information on iOS 10, visit our iOS 10 roundup or read the full release notes below:

iOS 10.2 introduces new features including the TV app (US Only), a new and unified experience for accessing your TV shows and movies across multiple video apps. Emoji have been beautifully redesigned to reveal even more detail and over 100 new emoji have been added including new faces, food, animals, sports, and professions. This update also includes stability improvements and bug fixes.

TV
- Use Up Next to see the movies and shows you're currently watching and pick up where you left off
- Get recommendations for new movies and TV shows in Watch Now
- Discover new apps and the latest iTunes releases in the Store
- Access the Library for your iTunes purchases and rentals

Emoji
- Beautifully redesigned emoji that reveal even more detail
- Over 100 new emoji including new faces, food, animals, sports, and professions

Photos
- Improves stabilization and delivers faster frame rate for Live Photos
- Improves accuracy of groupings of similar photos of the same person in the People album
- Fixes an issue where Memories might generate a memory from photos of screenshots, whiteboards or receipts
- Fixes an issue where the camera would stay zoomed in after switching back from the Camera Roll on iPhone 7 Plus
- Additional support for RAW digital cameras

Messages
- Adds new love and celebration full screen effects in Messages
- Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented the keyboard from displaying in Messages

Music
- Swipe up the Now Playing screen to more easily access Shuffle, Repeat and Up Next
- Choose how to sort Playlists, Albums, and Songs in Library

News
- Stories you've saved for later now appear the new Saved section
- The best paid stories from channels you subscribe to will now appear in a dedicated section in For You
- It's now easier than ever to get to the next story, just swipe left or tap Next Story while reading

Mail
- Fixes an issue that caused the Move sheet to persist after filing a Mail message
- Addresses an issue with long press activating copy and paste in Mail
- Fixes an issue in which the wrong message would be selected after deleting a Mail conversation

Accessibility
Adds BraillePen14 support to VoiceOver
- Fixes an issue where the braille table could switch unexpectedly with VoiceOver
- Fixes an issue where sometimes Siri enhanced voices were unavailable to VoiceOver
- Fixes an issue where VoiceOver users could not re-order items in lists
- Fixes an issue where Switch Control was sometimes unable to delete Voicemails

Other improvements and fixes
- Adds notification support for HomeKit accessories including window coverings, occupancy, motion, door/window, smoke, carbon monoxide, and water leak sensors
- Adds notification support for HomeKit accessories when software updates are available to HomeKit accessories
- Improves Bluetooth performance and connectivity with 3rd party accessories
- Fixes an issue that could cause FaceTime participants to appear out of focus
- Fixes an issue that could cause FaceTime calls to appear with incorrect aspect ratio and orientation
- Fixes an issue that prevented some Visual Voicemail from completing playback
- Fixes a Safari Reader issue that could cause articles to open as empty pages
- Fixes an issue that could cause Safari to quit unexpectedly after marking an item as read in Reading List

Related Forum: iOS 10

Top Rated Comments

omihek Avatar
82 months ago
Watch TV and type emoji, the 2 things I use my phone for the very most. /s
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
leman Avatar
82 months ago
To all the "smart people" complaining about the emojis: you do realise that they are part of the new Unicode standard? The newsline should be "Apple implements Unicode 9.0" but of course the news like "Apple makes a pointless update, adding some new emojis" would generate much more traffic.

For more details: http://emojipedia.org/unicode-9.0/
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miknos Avatar
82 months ago
I prefer stability and performance improvements over certain features.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mozumder Avatar
82 months ago
I want to hear more people complain about emojis, because that is so interesting. People that complain about emojis are interesting people that i would like to invite to parties.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hawkeye_a Avatar
82 months ago
I upgraded from a 3GS to a 6S earlier this year, and was horrified when I saw what has happened with the Music app. It was specifically nerve wracking trying to find the repeat & shuffle buttons.

Can't wait to see where they've buried them now. /s
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wol Avatar
82 months ago
Watch TV and type emoji, the 2 things I use my phone for the very most. /s
Who cares for software security or performance - new emojis, yippee! :confused:
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
google bard

Google Opens Up Access to Bard AI Chatbot

Tuesday March 21, 2023 4:23 pm PDT by
Google today began allowing users to sign up to use Bard, its AI-powered chatbot that rivals Microsoft's Bing chatbot. First announced back in February, Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search. Those interested in Bard can join Google's waitlist to get access, and some users have reported getting invitation emails just hours after signing up. There are a long list ...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...