iOS 16 Beta 2 Tidbits: New Wallpaper Colors, Backup Over LTE, SMS Filtering and More

Apple today seeded the second betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, and the new betas introduce new features and refine some of the changes that Apple made with the first iOS 16 release.

Lock Screen Photo Wallpaper Customization

When customizing a photo on the Lock Screen, there are two new DuoTone and Color Wash overlay options to change the look of the photo.

customize wallpaper setting ios 16

Wallpaper Photo Editing

If you set a photo as your wallpaper, Apple lets you know that you can use pinch gestures to adjust the crop of the image.

ios 16 pinch to crop

Back Ups Over LTE

iPhone and iPad users can back up their devices over an LTE cellular connection, in addition to a 5G or WiFi connection. Apple introduced support for 5G backups in iOS 15, and has expanded it to LTE in iOS 16.

Astronomy Wallpaper Location

The Astronomy wallpaper now shows a green dot to let you know where you are located. The dot appears in the Earth wallpaper options, but it does not stay on the wallpaper at all times and is instead only visible when editing the wallpaper. These dynamic wallpapers are also now available on older iPhones.

astronomy wallpaper location ios 16

Wallpaper Editing

In the Settings app, the Wallpapers section has been tweaked to make it easier to customize the different wallpapers that you set for the Home Screen and Lock Screen. There are new "Customize" options under the Lock Screen and ‌Home Screen‌ options to make it clearer that there are settings that can be adjusted.

customize wallpaper setting ios 16
When you choose your look, there's also an option to "Set as Wallpaper Pair."

Apple Cash and Apple Card

The Apple Cash "Send and Request" interface has been changed in the second beta of iOS 16. It's now a single merged button instead of two separate buttons, and the balance is shown more clearly.

apple cash send request ios 16

For Apple Card, the "Weekly Activity" section also lets you know how much Apple Cash you've earned for the week. t

Screenshots

There's now a "Save to Quick Note" option when saving a screenshot, which joins the Save to Photos, Save to Files, and Delete Screenshot options.

ios 16 quick note screenshot

Delete Lock Screens

It's now easier to delete a Lock Screen by swiping upwards.

delete lock screen ios 16

SMS Filtering

According to Apple's release notes, developers are able to classify incoming SMS messages from unknown numbers into 12 sub-categories with Transaction and Promotion categories for improved organization.

For Indian users, Messages supports event extraction from SMS. EVent and appointment messages are shown as Siri suggestions and are also presented to users in Messages thread and the Calendar inbox.

iPadOS 16 Stage Manager

In iPadOS 16 beta 2 on compatible iPads, there is a new Stage Manager setting under the "‌Home Screen‌ and Dock" section of the Settings app. It displays options for hiding recent apps and hiding the dock while using ‌Stage Manager‌.

Messages Junk Reporting

For some U.S. carriers, Messages in iOS 16 beta 2 extends the "Report Junk" feature to allow users to report SMS/MMS junk to carriers.

report junk message ios 16

Translate

The Translate app now supports Turkish, Thai, Polish, Indonesian, and Dutch.

HealthKit APIs

For developers, HealthKit workout APIs support multisport workouts with activities that include swimming, cycling, and running.

iOS 16 beta 2 also adds HealthKit support for the new running workout metrics that Apple announced at WWDC. Workout metrics include running power, ground contact time, vertical oscillation, running speed, and stride length.

Other New Features

Know of a new feature in iOS 16 that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.

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Top Rated Comments

IMPOSSIBLEMAN Avatar
34 months ago
Always-on numbers row in the default keyboard, please Apple. ?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twocents Avatar
34 months ago
Why delete the Pride wallpaper.. it’s still June
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
34 months ago
Nice changes - Love the layout of the new Lock Screen. It looks stunning!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
34 months ago

Tempted to install the public beta... wonder when it will be out?
Suppose to be out in July. Next month. I say within the next 3 weeks.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
34 months ago
Excited for that new Lock Screen
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
srbNYC Avatar
34 months ago

The Astronomy wallpaper now shows a green dot to let you know where you are located.
I can't get the wallpaper to locate me. Help!

UPDATE: Found the "Astronomy" toggle in Location Services. (Not sure why folks found this post funny. I wasn't kidding. ? )
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)