Apple Releases Second Public Betas of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 With Freeform App, Stage Manager External Display Support and More

Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates to public beta testers, providing the software to the general public. Today's beta comes two weeks after Apple released the first public betas.

iOS 16
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's free beta testing program can download the ‌iOS and iPadOS 16.‌2 betas over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.

iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 introduce the Freeform app, which can be used for jotting down notes, sketching, drawing, brainstorming ideas, creating mood boards, and more. Multiple people can work on the same Freeform board, with changes synced for all participants in real time.

For the iPad, the update brings external display support to the Stage Manager multitasking feature, allowing up to eight apps to be used at once. External display support is available for the M1 and M2 ‌iPad‌ models.

ipados stage manager external display
There is a new Home app architecture coming in iOS and iPadOS 16.2, which Apple says is designed to bring faster, more reliable performance, especially in homes with a lot of smart home accessories. The new architecture requires the HomePod 16.2 beta software, and it causes the Home app not to work with devices updated to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, or macOS Ventura 13.1.

Unintentional Emergency SOS calls can be reported to Apple in iOS 16.2, and there are a few other minor changes that can be found in our iOS 16.2 feature guide.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Preparing iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones

Saturday October 11, 2025 6:59 pm PDT by
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released within the next few weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Being Rebranded as Apple TV

Monday October 13, 2025 8:25 am PDT by
Buried in its announcement about "F1: The Movie" making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV. A single line near the end of the press release states "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity," though Apple's website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we're unsure on the details of the...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features

Saturday October 11, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Smaller Dynamic Island The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
All AirPods 2025

Apple Reportedly Working on New AirPods Pro, AirPods 5, and H3 Chip

Sunday October 12, 2025 9:24 am PDT by
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a "new version" of the "high-end in-ear buds." AirPods Pro 2...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
Meta Ray Ban Glasses

Apple's Smart Glasses With In-Lens Display May Feature Two Modes

Sunday October 12, 2025 9:43 am PDT by
Apple's second-generation smart glasses with an in-lens display may have two modes, depending on which device they are connected to. Meta Ray-Bans without an in-lens display In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said he was told a future version of Apple's smart glasses may be able to run a full version of the visionOS operating system when they are paired with a Mac, and...
10

Apple to Launch New Products Starting Next Week, Claims Dubious Leak [Updated]

Friday October 10, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Update: the Naver account appears to be referencing a speculative post on X by Vadim Yuryev, dated October 6. The original article follows. Apple will announce new products through a series of press releases beginning as soon as next week, according to a dubious claim posted on the Korean blog Naver. The Naver blog account yeux1122, which aggregates rather than originates Apple...
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

Eldaerenth Faexidor Avatar
38 months ago
I am so looking forward to freeform!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roncron Avatar
38 months ago
Public beta testers, if you're not currently on beta 1, or maybe even if you are, please check out the macrumors forum thread on 16.2 beta 2 before installing. There seems to be a greater than usual number of reports of problems, especially with frame drops or stuttering on iPhones with promotion. A fair number of developers who installed beta 2 are going back to beta 1 or 16.1 public release.

(That said, there are plenty of developers who are having little to no problems with beta 2; it just seems like the number with problems is higher than normal for a second beta on a .2 release.)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GlassFingers Avatar
38 months ago
I cannot wait to use FreeForm! I tried some of the other brainstorming apps out there a couple months back, and each of them had different issues… I think Apple is going to get it right!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
38 months ago
[SPOILER="iOS & iPadOS 16.2 Beta 2 Release Notes"]
[HEADING=2]Freeform[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* Can’t delete boards while offline, or if iCloud data is disabled for Freeform. (100294085)
Workaround: Go to Settings (System Setting on macOS) > Apple ID > iCloud, then in the Apps using iCloud section, toggle Freeform to On.
* Adding or removing collaborators can fail while attempting to change share settings. (101186059)
Workaround: Close the share sheet and try to add or remove the participants again.

[HEADING=2]Keyboard[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]

* Fixed: When typing in Chinese Pinyin, selecting an option from the candidate bar is unresponsive. (73513207)

[HEADING=2]Stage Manager[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Known Issues[/HEADING]

* While using Stage Manager with an External Display, dragging a second window to the workspace incorrectly hides the Recent Apps list—shifting all windows in the workspace to the right. (98540114)

[HEADING=2]TV App[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]

* Fixed: Play tracking (Up Next, and Top Shelf Update) won’t work for all platforms. (101258095)

[HEADING=2]SwiftUI[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]New Features in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]

* Disable animations of NavigationStack push and pop by wrapping path mutation in withTransaction(transaction) { … } where transaction has disablesAnimations set to true. (88993253)

[HEADING=3]Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 16.2 beta 2[/HEADING]

* Fixed: Programmatically popping multiple views from a NavigationStack, by manipulating its path binding, now animates. Use with Transaction to override this behavior. (96852321)

[/SPOILER]

Released yesterday to devs, today to PB testers, mobile Safari is now 16.2
iOS 16.2 beta 2 (20C5043e) - November 8, 2022
iPadOS 16.2 beta 2 (20C5043e) - November 8, 2022
macOS 13.1 beta 2 (22C5044e) - November 8, 2022
watchOS 9.2 beta 2 (20S5342d) - November 8, 2022
tvOS 16.2 beta 2 (20K5342d) - November 8, 2022
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yeetus Avatar
38 months ago
5G's finally working! Airtel, Delhi (NSA).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)