Apple today seeded the first public betas of upcoming iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 updates to its public beta testing group, a few days after seeding the first betas to developers and a little less than a week after releasing the iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates.
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS 14.2 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device.
iOS 14.2 introduces a new Music Recognition control for the Control Center, deepening the integration of the Apple-owned Shazam app in the iOS operating system. Music Recognition lets you discover music playing around you and it can recognize music playing in apps even when you're wearing AirPods.
The Shazam Music Recognition feature can be added to Control Center through the Control Center options in the Settings app. To use the feature, open up Control Center and then tap on the Shazam icon to initiate a single recognition.
The new update brings a redesigned Now Playing widget for the Control Center that lists recently played albums that you might want to listen to when you have no music playing. There's also a redesigned interface for AirPlay, making it easier to play music across multiple AirPlay 2-enabled devices in the home.
For those who have low vision, Apple added a "People Detection" feature in the Magnifier app that uses the camera to let iPhone users know how far away other people are, which can be useful for social distancing purposes.
The new iOS 14.2 beta will likely be in testing for some time as Apple works on releasing new iPhones, with the new iPhones expected to debut sometime in October.
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch.
Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More
Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Monday January 26, 2026 3:56 pm PST by Juli Clover
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released.
iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Tuesday January 27, 2026 2:39 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available.
Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
Thursday January 29, 2026 2:40 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
On an earnings call with equity analysts today, Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to fast-rising RAM and SSD storage chip prices in the supply chain.
Prices for RAM and NAND storage chips are surging lately due to high demand from companies building out AI servers, resulting in supply constraints.
Cook said that rising memory chip prices had a "minimal impact" on Apple's gross margin in the...
Control center is so frustrating. We need more control of how we want to lay it out. Like Home Kit constantly changes where the buttons are trying to guess what you're going to turn on. I just want it to be in exactly the same spot, so it becomes a habit! Looking for it every time is frustrating.
Be careful. Developer Beta wiped out the functionality of the Oxygen Sensor, ECG, Altimeter from the Apple Watch Series 6 on Friday. Not sure if that will be addressed in the Public Beta.
Be careful. Developer Beta wiped out the functionality of the Oxygen Sensor, ECG, Altimeter from the Apple Watch Series 6 on Friday. Not sure if that will be addressed in the Public Beta.
The release notes for the watchOS developer beta mentions the blood oxygen not being available on this release. However the release notes for the iOS developer beta makes no mention about the blood oxygen counterpart on the Health app, and yet, it is not available if paired with the GM code on the watch.
It seems, however, this is standard behavior: all newest features introduced with new hardware on the Apple Watch were unavailable on the first beta code after the GM of the new OS.
