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.

Top Rated Comments

IMPOSSIBLEMAN Avatar
23 months ago
Always-on numbers row in the default keyboard, please Apple. ?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twocents Avatar
23 months ago
Why delete the Pride wallpaper.. it’s still June
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
23 months ago
Nice changes - Love the layout of the new Lock Screen. It looks stunning!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
23 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
23 months ago
Excited for that new Lock Screen
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
srbNYC Avatar
23 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)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...