Apple Releases Third Developer Beta of iOS 12.2

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming iOS 12.2 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the second beta of iOS 12.2 and a week and a half since the launch of iOS 12.1.4.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.2 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

ios12banner
The third beta of iOS 12.2 may include a Group FaceTime fix that allows iOS 12.2 users access to Group ‌FaceTime‌ once again. Apple shut down its Group ‌FaceTime‌ servers after a major privacy-invading Group ‌FaceTime‌ bug was found a couple weeks ago, and later limited the Group ‌FaceTime‌ feature to those running iOS 12.1.4, an updated version of iOS that fixes the bug. The same fix will likely be extended to iOS 12.2 as this is the first iOS 12.2 beta released since it was deployed in the release version of iOS.

iOS 12.2 expands Apple News to Canada for the first time, with Canadian iPhone and iPad users able to read news stories in English, French, or both. Apple says that during the beta, content will be more limited than it will when the update is released.

applenewscanada
There are new Animoji in the iOS 12.2 beta, including a boar, a shark, a giraffe, and an owl. Animoji can be used within the Messages and ‌FaceTime‌ apps.

newanimojicharacters
The software introduces support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on third-party TVs in light of recent AirPlay 2 announcements, with a new option for limiting TV access joining the speaker access option in the Home app. There's also a redesigned TV remote in Control Center, and when paired with tvOS 12.2, you can ask Siri to play specific TV shows, movies, and music on your ‌HomeKit‌ devices like the Apple TV.

appletvremoteredesign
For some AT&T users, there's a new "5G E" icon for the cellular signal, replacing the standard LTE icon. This is a bit misleading of AT&T, because the ‌iPhone‌ does not support 5G, nor is the network AT&T calls 5G E actual 5G. Instead, it's an upgraded version of LTE, with more info available here.

The Wallet app's interface has been streamlined and tweaked, there's a new interface for Apple Pay Cash, and the Downtime feature in Screen Time now allows you to customize by day. Apple has also made minor changes to some icons, including the ‌AirPlay‌ icon, and introduced new Safari features, with a full list available in in our iOS 12.2 tidbits post.

heysiriairpodsfeature
Apple is improving Safari's privacy in iOS 12.2 through a new Motion & Orientation toggle located under Settings > Safari > Privacy > Security, which is disabled by default. The setting needs to be enabled on to allow websites to display content that relies on motion data from the accelerometer and gyroscope in the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌.

iOS 12.2 confirms that Apple is planning to release second-generation AirPods with "Hey ‌Siri‌" support, thanks to a hidden "Hey ‌Siri‌" AirPods setup screen in the beta. The inclusion of the AirPods setup option in the beta indicates that Apple could perhaps be planning to release new AirPods when iOS 12.2 is released.

The update also features hints of an upcoming Apple News subscription service, which could see a Texture-like magazine service added to Apple News. The iOS 12.2 update is likely to see several rounds of beta testing before it launches to the public.

There are multiple new features in iOS 12.2, along with bug fixes. We rounded up everything that's new in the beta in our iOS 12.2 beta 3 tidbits post.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
87 months ago
iOS 12.2 expands Apple News to Canada ('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/24/apple-news-canada-ios-12-2/') for the first time, with Canadian iPhone and iPad users able to read news stories in English, French, or both. Apple says that during the beta, content will be more limited than it will when the update is released.


I've warned you before about embedding a MacRumors article inside of a MacRumors article!



Well, it's too late now; the site is self-aware. Those forum outages yesterday were only the beginning…
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Der Keyser Avatar
87 months ago
Great... More emojii’s but nothing usable towards getting iOS better at doing real work.

Come on Apple, expand the “Files” app/shortcut to really allow usage in all apps!
And get it to show content of Cardreaders/USB devices as well so we can import files directly into apps.
I still feel like 1987 when I have to import images into photos to then import/copy them into Lightroom..... How stupid a workflow/waste of space.....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theshoehorn Avatar
87 months ago
I’m surprised Apple is giving AT&T a 5G icon. I really despise companies that try to mislead consumers and AT&T is as slimy as they come.
T-Mobile started it back in the day when they started decreeing their 3G network 4G.... AT&T followed and now doing it again
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cliffster82 Avatar
87 months ago
Yes - I'd expect it out around the end of March event. I think AirPods 2 around that time/April also
12.2 will be released well before WWDC. As far as IOS 12 goes.. they'll probably settle around 12.4 in total as the year moves forward. And of course WWDC will debut IOS 13 beta.
Yes that all sounds right. Makes buying AirPods today seem real stupid. I want some wireless buds bad, but I've already waited this long so..
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Babygotfont Avatar
87 months ago
T-Mobile started it back in the day when they started decreeing their 3G network 4G.... AT&T followed and now doing it again
I heard through the grapevine sprint is pressing apple to display their legacy WiMAX icon
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neomorpheus Avatar
87 months ago
Great... More emojii’s but nothing usable towards getting iOS better at doing real work.

Come on Apple, expand the “Files” app/shortcut to really allow usage in all apps!
And get it to show content of Cardreaders/USB devices as well so we can import files directly into apps.
I still feel like 1987 when I have to import images into photos to then import/copy them into Lightroom..... How stupid a workflow/waste of space.....
And mouse support!

So the damned ipad pro can do something else besides bending...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)